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OFFICE DEPOT SETTLES CONSUMER PROTECTION CASE FOR $2.5 MILLION FOR ALLEGED OVERCHARGES OF CALIFORNIA CUSTOMERS
Santa
Clara County District Attorney Dolores A. Carr announced today that her
office joined with the District Attorneys of Marin, Sonoma, Ventura,
Solano, Napa, Shasta, Sacramento, and Los Angeles counties, and the
City Attorney of the City of Los Angeles, to settle a consumer
protection case filed against Office Depot, Inc. the operator of
“Office Depot” stores through California. The initial investigation
arose out of inspections of Office Depot’s checkout scanners by state
and local Weights and Measures inspectors. The Stipulated Final
Judgment was approved by the Santa Clara County Superior Court.Office
Depot cooperated with prosecutors during the investigation and agreed
to additional price check programs to enhance its pricing accuracy.
Under the terms of the settlement, without admitting any wrongdoing,
Office Depot, Inc., agreed to pay $2,300,000 in civil penalties and
$285,791 to reimburse costs of investigation. Office Depot will also
offer restitution to the public in the form of a coupon good for $5.00
off in-store purchases at California Office Depot stores. The coupon
will be prominently placed in an Office Depot Sunday ad circular to be
published within the next several months. Office Depot will also
provide a price guarantee of up to $5.00 if, at the time of purchase, a
consumer is charged a price that is higher than the lowest advertised
price for an item. This price guarantee will be posted in every store
in California.District Attorney Carr acknowledged the efforts of
Weights and Measures officials in monitoring retail pricing so that
consumers get the correct prices when they shop. Carr said, “Most
scanner overcharges by stores are the result of carelessness or
negligence rather than an intentional act. But businesses must
establish procedures and devote resources to promote price accuracy.
Our office brings actions such as this to ensure that businesses comply
with their responsibilities. Consumers should also be vigilant at the
cash register to make sure they are charged the correct price for the
items they purchase.”
Office Depot settles consumer protection suit for $2.5 million
Office
Depot settled a $2.5 million consumer protection lawsuit Tuesday that
was initiated by Shasta County.The settlement, which included seven
other counties in California, stemmed from a customer complaint in 2002
out of the Cypress Avenue store in Redding, said Shasta County Deputy
District Attorney Erin Dervin, who prosecuted the case.Investigators
found that in some instances, the store failed to charge the correct
prices for merchandise — either because scanners were improperly
programmed or because workers failed to take down old sale signs.When
the investigation broadened, it was determined that the problems
existed at other stores in California.”The problem was in their
computer system, so the same problem at the Cypress Store was happening
at their Dana Drive store (in Redding), their stores in Sacramento,
Riverside,” Dervin said.Office Depot Inc. agreed to pay $2.3 million in
civil penalties and $285,791 to reimburse investigation costs. The
store also will offer $5-off coupons to customers. The coupons will
appear in a future Office Depot Sunday newspaper advertisement.What’s
more, Office Depot will offer customers a price guarantee of up to $5
if, at any time of purchase, a shopper is charged a price that is
higher than the lowest advertised price for an item.The settlement also
involves Marin, Sonoma, Ventura, Solano, Napa, Santa Clara, Sacramento
and Los Angeles counties. The suit was filed in Santa Clara
County.Under terms of the deal, Shasta County will receive $230,000,
which will go into the county’s general fund.The initial investigation
arose from inspections of Office Depot checkout scanners by Shasta
County Weights and Measures officials.Dervin said customers were
overcharged an average of $12.”There were many different products. One
was a two-drawer filing cabinet, but there was also something as small
as a package of pens,” Dervin said.Dervin said Office Depot was not
intentionally misleading customers. Rather, the problems arose from
negligent behavior or simple carelessness.Dervin also commended Office
Depot for its cooperation with investigators.”Office Depot did
something unprecedented in the area of unfair business litigation. They
opened their books to us,” Dervin said. “We were able to do a
full-blown audit of every transaction in the state. That took months to
get through.”
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