Bucks County officials warn of alarming trend of price inaccuracies
WARMINSTER, Pa. (CBS) -- As many families focus on finances to start the new year, experts are warning of a growing trend of retail price inaccuracies where consumers unknowingly pay more than they should.
The Pep Boys store is one of nearly a dozen in Bucks County that received a citation and fine during the last year for failing to make sure the price advertised is what consumers actually pay.
"It's become a big problem over the past two years," Director of Bucks County consumer protection/weights & measures Michael Bannon said.
Bannon is warning of an alarming trend of retail price inaccuracies, where the price posted doesn't match what you're charged at the register.
"If you're not checking the price that's on the shelf to what's being charged at the cash register there's a good chance it's wrong," Bannon said.
Bannon continues to say the problem has surged since COVID, with inflation driving up prices weekly and in some cases even daily as stores struggle to find workers to meet demand. He also says big box retailers, who stock thousands of items, are especially susceptible to errors.
"We've seen discrepancies from a few pennies to a few dollars," Bannon said.
"That's a good one," Chris Tomilson said.
Tomlinson is one of the county's inspectors, responsible for going store to store to verify if products are correctly priced. On this day, he's tasked with checking 50 random items.
"I can usually find one in 50," Tomlinson said.
While this grocer passed the inspection, Tomilson says his line of work has forced him to get into a habit of double-checking every item scanned.
"Definitely paying attention to receipts more now than I ever did before," Tomlinson said.
And while experts like Tomilson and Bannon are watching out, it's important to know the burden more often than not, falls on the consumer.
"Many people think and it's incorrect that if the price is wrong that the store has to honor the price on the shelf and that is not correct, it's up to the store to decide if they want to give you that discount or not," Bannon said.
Consumer experts say two best practices are to take a picture of sale tags in case there is an issue at the register and check your receipt before leaving the store.
Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of price accuracy can give your county's consumer protection team a call.
