Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others call for investigation into Albertsons

About a month after Albertsons agreed to pay a nearly $4 million settlement to resolve allegations of false advertising and overcharging customers, members of Congress are calling for an investigation.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) sent letters to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, calling on them to investigate whether Albertsons and other major grocery chains violated federal law. 

The letter notes the $3.9 million settlement that Albertsons, along with its subsidiary banners Safeway and Vons, paid after California district attorneys alleged the retailer “unlawfully charged customers prices higher than their lowest advertised or posted price” and placed “inaccurate weights on labels of their products.”

Albertsons Companies released a statement in response to the allegation, saying the retailer is "committed to ensuring our customers pay the lowest advertised price on a product."

"We closely follow all local pricing rules and regulations in the various communities where we operate, and we work quickly to correct any price discrepancies. The lawsuit filed in California pertained to administrative errors at the local store level and has been settled accordingly. We have since made several changes to our processes to reduce the risk of similar errors happening again," Albertsons said. 

Albertsons, which operates 589 California locations under the three banners, overcharged on products like produce, meat, and baked goods by including the weight of packaging on items that were sold based on net weight, according to California attorneys general from numerous counties across the state. 

“In addition, the prosecutors alleged that Safeway and its subsidiary Vons failed to abide by provisions of a 2014 injunction mandating they implement a price accuracy policy to resolve allegations of price inaccuracy,” the letter stated. “The policy required that when a Safeway store overcharged a customer for an item, the customer either received the item for free or received a $5 gift card.

“Safeway failed to consistently honor and train employees on the company policy, resulting in Safeway overcharging customers and preventing customers from receiving the policy’s benefits.”

The settlement in California required Albertsons to pay $3.2 million in civil penalties and $749,500 in restitution to cover investigations costs and support future enforcement of California’s consumer protection laws. 

“We are concerned that Albertsons’ actions may have also violated federal law. For example, Albertsons may have committed ‘unfair or deceptive acts or practices’ in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act,” stated the letter signed by 14 members of Congress. “In addition, Albertsons may have violated the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, as the company did not disclose the appropriate net quantity of contents on certain products.”

* This story was updated on 11/5/2024 to include a statement from Albertsons.