A Florida shopper has filed a class-action lawsuit against Publix Super Markets alleging that the retailer artificially inflated prices at checkout. For example, the lawsuit claims, Publix sometimes used a higher weight than the one printed on the package when calculating the price of certain meats, cheeses, and other items at checkout.
The suit, filed by The Russo Firm on behalf of Wendy Koutouzis, the Florida shopper, seeks class action certification and unspecified damages. It also demands that Publix update its POS system. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
A Publix spokesperson declined to comment.
The lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Supermarket News, lists several examples where Koutouzis claims to have been overcharged when the self-checkout calculated the price of a product based on higher weight than the one listed on the package. One package of pork tenderloins, for example, was listed on its label as weighing 2.83 pounds, but at the register the price was calculated using a weight of 3.96 pounds, according to the self-checkout screen.
Although the price that was charged matched the price on the label, the price should have been lower because the product itself weighed less than the weight used to calculate the price, according to the lawsuit.
Other examples included a variety of meats, cheeses and other products in which the price charged was substantially higher than it should have been, according to the suit.
In addition, the lawsuit also claims that Publix “regularly” keeps previous-week sale signs posted even though the discounts have expired.
The suit also claims that Publix regularly posts incorrect pricing for baby formula, displaying a lower price per ounce on the shelves than the price paid at the checkout.
In their own words: Inflated sales revenues
“Publix is wrongfully diverting customers’ hard-earned money to itself by implementing a POS that is purposefully programmed to change the weights of products resulting in inflated sales revenues for the company.” —Lawsuit filed by plaintiff Wendy Koutouzis against Publix