PetSmart will pay $1.46 million to settle a lawsuit filed by prosecutors in San Diego and other California counties alleging the retailer overcharged customers for items that were advertised for lower prices, it was announced Friday.
According to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, PetSmart admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, but it will pay $1.25 million in penalties, $100,000 in restitution to support future enforcement of consumer protection laws and $110,000 in investigative costs.
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The company is also barred from engaging in false or misleading advertising, or from charging an amount higher than the lowest advertised price for an item. It will also have to implement additional audit and price-accuracy procedures in stores over a three-year period.
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Prosecutors say PetSmart cooperated with the investigation and has since instituted new policies and procedures aimed at improving pricing accuracy.
"We are committed to protecting customers by ensuring businesses charge them accurately and in compliance with California law," San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said. "This is the latest in a string of prosecutions by our Consumer Protection Unit, which is prominent in a statewide team of DAs bringing pricing accuracy cases against major retailers in California. We urge people to pay attention as their items are being scanned at the register and check receipts to verify that they are being charged the posted sale price."
The lawsuit was filed in Santa Cruz County. Prosecutors in Los Angeles, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and Ventura counties also took part in the lawsuit.
