Consumer Reports says Kroger stores overcharging shoppers on sale items

Shoppers at Kroger (KR) have been unknowingly paying full price at checkout for scores of items-from meat and vegetables to juice, rice, and alcohol-that have been advertised as discounted or on sale, a monthslong investigation by Consumer Reports and other news organizations found, Derek Kravitz writes. CR, along with The Guardian and the Food & Environment Reporting Network, began checking grocery prices after learning that Kroger workers in Colorado who are currently in labor union negotiations with the company were alleging widespread errors on price labels-a problem they say has been going on for years and that Kroger is well aware of. The chain has also been called out by state inspectors for high rates of price tag errors and has defended itself against multiple class-action lawsuits alleging pricing errors, filed by Kroger customers in California, Illinois, Ohio, and Utah, the author notes. To document the size and breadth of the problem, people were recruited to shop at 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores. The shoppers found expired sales labels that led to overcharges on more than 150 grocery items.