Whole Foods Under Investigation For Possibly Overcharging
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The supermarket chain Whole Foods is often jokingly called "Whole Paycheck" because the inventory tends to be on the pricier side.
The chain has stores throughout South Florida but now an investigation in New York has revealed some of those products might have been unfairly marked up.
The Department of Consumer Affairs in New York says customers are paying more for less, labeling this one of the worst cases of overcharging it's ever seen.
"We are not just talking about a few violations. We are talking about what literally amounts to thousands of violations over numerous stores in the New York City area," said Julie Menin, the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs.
A spokesperson for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement on the matter saying, "We have read the story with interest and are looking into whether there are any issues in Florida."
CBS4 also reached out to the Florida Division of Consumer Services to find out whether a similar investigation is underway at Whole Foods stores in the Sunshine State. At the time of the publication, we had not yet heard back.
Last fall, inspectors tested 80 different types of pre-packaged products at eight New York locations and found all had inaccurate weights and labels, often resulting in overcharges.
The price discrepancies ranged from a few centers to nearly $15.
"I have probably spent $10,000 to $20,000 over the last few years and to not be getting the quality and quantity, that just really is disheartening," said Whole Foods shopper Bethany Snodgrass.
Whole Foods calls the allegations an overreach.
But Whole Foods calls the allegations an overreach.
"Occasionally there will be human error, but there's no system to overcharge or upcharge customers," said John Hempfling, the Chief Litigation Counsel for Whole Foods Market.
The company says it has tried to address concerns by walking officials through its auditing and training programs.
"We're not going to be coerced into paying outrageous demand and we're not going to be coerced by them coming out to the press and making these issues public when they're not accurate issues in the first place," Hempfling said.
This isn't the first time Whole Foods has been accused of cheating customers.
Last year, the chain was forced to pay $800,000 in California for similar violations.
"If a customer at any point goes to a cashier and believes they have a wrong label or an incorrect price they can simply ask the cashier, and if it's a mistake we'll refund the money," Hempfling said.
"The bottom line is it's not the consumers' responsibility to do this legwork. It's almost always on the employer to do the right thing," Menin said.
It's not clear what penalties Whole Foods may face, but fines could start at $950 for the first violation and almost $1,700 for each one after that.
