A sign for a Whole Foods Market is viewed in the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Spencer Platt)
Whole Foods is shelling out $500,000 into settle its overcharging case with the city of New York. City officials found that the market chain company charged their customers more than the actual prices of prepacked food items.
Whole Foods owns nine stores around Manhattan and Brooklyn and in June officials tested about 80 different packaged foods being sold in the shops. The results revealed that all of the packages were mislabeled as they bear incorrect weights. Shoppers may have also been overcharged by as much as $14, Telegraph UK has learned.
After the findings were released, the executives issued apology but it appeared they blamed the store staffs for the incident after making a promise to train their workers more rigidly. The company further reiterated that there was "no evidence of systematic or intentional misconduct."
New York's consumer affairs commissioner Julie Menin stated on DCA website: "My inspectors described it as the worst case of mislabeling they have seen in their careers."
And as the case is being resolved, the commissioner further said, "After discovering the troubling and repeated mislabeling of prepackaged goods at Whole Foods last year, we are happy to have reached an agreement with Whole Foods that will help to ensure New Yorkers are better protected from overcharging."
On the other hand, regarding the settlement agreement with New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, the chain store wrote through press release that while Whole Foods Market refused DCA's initial demand to pay $1.5 million, the company accepted the $500,000 fine. The store also made it clear that they only yielded because they want to put everything behind and move on so they can focus on providing MYC shoppers with the best service.
Lastly, the supermarket chain said that to avoid the same issue, it has already implemented measures according to the city's requirements. The management further guaranteed refunds for wrongly priced items.
