The Missouri attorney general filed a lawsuit against Walgreens over the company’s failure to remove expired sales tags from store shelves, arguing deceptive pricing and a violation of a 2014 settlement related to a similar matter.
Attorney General Chris Koster filed court documents requesting that a judge hold Walgreens in contempt of a previous settlement and issue steeper fines against the company at $5,000 for each expired tag. Undercover investigators in July found more than 1,300 expired sales tags in as many as 50 stores. Two tags expired in 2013.
“Consumers should not have to dig through outdated and incorrect information to find the true price of an item,” said Koster. The stores’ refusal to remove the expired tags is a “flagrant defiance of the court’s order,” he added.
“I believe the problem is rooted in negligence,” he continued. “I don’t believe they care. This has become institutionalized as a marketing technique for Walgreens, and it is outrageous.”
Koster sued Walgreens in 2013, arguing that the company was overcharging its customers by neglecting to remove expired sales tags. Walgreens agreed to pay a $136,000 settlement that including paying for an independent auditor to inspect whether or not the company complied. It’s obvious that the company did not.
For more on this story, visit the Maryville Daily Forum “Missouri Attorney General: WalGreen Co. Deceiving Consumers”
