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AnonymousInactiveAUDIT FINDS THAT OFFICE-DEPOT
OWES SAN-FRANSISCO MILLIONS
Here’s a
start toward solving San Francisco’s $522 million budget deficit for
next year: Stop being gouged for paper clips and staples.Office Depot
overcharged San Francisco for at least $5.75 million worth of office
supplies over 4 1/2 years, according to a new audit by the city’s
controller, findings the national chain disputes.“It’s certainly
money that the city is owed,” Controller Ben Rosenfield said after
releasing the audit Friday. “It’s money that we were overcharged on pens
and paper at a time when we’re being forced to cut services and lay off
employees.”Office Depot, beset by overcharging allegations across the
country, violated its exclusive contract to provide city government with
office supplies by not giving the city agreed-upon discounts and making
unauthorized price increases, the audit said.The audit also faulted the
city’s Office of Contract Administration for poor oversight, saying the
city was making monthly payments to Office Depot without sufficient
verification that the items and prices were correct.Office Depot
contends the audit is flawed and has given no indication it will pay
the city.
“The assertion that we owe $5.7 million is without merit,”
company spokesman Jason Shockley said. “We believe the report contains
material errors and fails to maintain the objectivity and fairness
required.”Office Depot executives are “more than willing to
meet” with San Francisco officials “to resolve our differences
amicably,” Shockley said.”Our findings are fair,” Rosenfield countered.
“The money is owed to the city.”City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s staff is
reviewing the audit and considering its options, spokesman Matt Dorsey
said.The audit is the latest in a string that have found Office
Depot overcharged governments for supplies, including the states of
California, Georgia, North Carolina and Nebraska, San Francisco’s report
said.The company agreed last year to refund California $2.5
million after an audit found items were purchased without receiving the
expected discount, the state Department of General Services said. That
came on top of a separate $2.5 million settlement Office Depot agreed to
pay nine California counties in 2007 for allegedly overcharging
customers in stores. In March, a Berkeley audit found more than $250,000
in overcharges.”Office Depot is playing fast and loose with the
privilege of doing business with the state,” Nebraska State Auditor Mike
Foley said last year. “They ought to be held accountable.”In
San Francisco, the audit looked at every purchase from January 2005
through June 2009 and found $5.75 million worth of overcharges out of
$18.3 million in payments – a markup of more than 31 percent.Office
Depot’s contract with the city expired Nov. 30. The city has switched to
Staples for office supplies for at least the next six months as it
prepares to put the contract out to bid.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/19/BA981B6IAA.DTLHerrera
Issues Demand Letter to Office Depot in Wake of S.F. Controller’s Audit
SAN
FRANCISCO – City Attorney Dennis Herrera last Monday issued a demand
letter to Office Depot, Inc. expressing his intention to “vigorously
pursue” at least $5.75 million in overcharges together with interest,
attorney’s fees, and costs incurred by the City in conducting the audit.The
demand letter follows the release of an exhaustive audit report by the
Office of City Controller Ben Rosenfield, which was released on Dec. 18,
2009. The Controller’s 96-page audit concluded that, among other
overcharges, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based office products supplier failed
to provide the City with contractually mandated discounts for items
covered by the 5-year contract, which was valued at some $18 million.“Any
resolution of this matter must include compensation to the City for the
costs of the audit, and for attorney’s fees, as well as full
reimbursement for price overcharges, with interest,” Herrera wrote. “If
the City is unable to obtain a satisfactory informal resolution of this
matter, I will not hesitate to pursue the matter in court. Further, if
court action becomes necessary, rest assured that my office will
vigorously pursue the City’s claims to the fullest, including seeking
civil penalties and debarment, if appropriate.”
http://www.digitalnewsreport.com/2009/12/herrera-issues-demand-letter-to-office-depot-in-wake-of-s-f-controllers-audit/1503Office Depot to Close Distribution
Center (live video )
http://www.wnep.com/wnep-luz-office-depot-closing-distribution-center,0,5185945.story
Another
distribution center in Luzerne County will soon be closing its doors.
Officials
from the Office Depot have confirmed the facility near Mountain Top
will be relocating.More than 100 workers work at the Office Depot in the
Crestwood Industrial Park. Come February, all of them will be looking
for a new job.”What can you say? There’s no work out there. Nobody’s
buying. Nobody’s selling. So what can you do?” asked Fred Amorosa of
Shickshinny.He isn’t surprised to hear about the latest plant shut down
in Luzerne County. Amorosa is a local truck driver and said times are
tough just about everywhere you look.Louis Edwards agrees. “It’s bad all
over. I’m laid off myself,” Edwards said. “I’m out here today looking
for a job.”The distribution center in Mountain Top will
permanently shut down in February and consolidate to a new location near
Harrisburg in Cumberland County.William Zoepke has been working as a
security guard there for nearly a decade. He said he is not looking
forward to saying goodbye. “Well not really. They figured it was coming
but then when it does happen, it’s more or less a surprise,” Zoepke
said. He plans to retire after the February closure.Not everyone working
at the Office Depot facility will be as lucky. Many have families to
support. They will need to rely on unemployment until they can find new
work.businesses like Abe’s Hot Dogs along Route 309 said they
rely on the lunch-time crowd from the industrial park to keep business
going there as well.”Last year they laid off a lot of people from the
plants up in the industrial park. Now with Office Depot going it’s going
to hurt our business even more,”said Sandy Waitoish of Abe’s.Officials
from the Office Depot said current employees will be able to apply for
positions at the new location near Harrisburg. Severance packages are
also being offered.
http://www.wnep.com/wnep-luz-office-depot-closing-distribution-center,0,5185945.story -
AuthorJanuary 4, 2010 at 11:32 AM
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