Ralphs Grocery Co. was fined nearly $68,000 on Wednesday and placed on three years’ probation for overcharging customers for prepackaged and weighed products at stores throughout Los Angeles.
Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson said some of the store’s problems stemmed from ice on prepackaged fish that increased the weight – and thus the cost – of the product, and he advised the store to “rinse the ice off the fish” to avoid future problems.
The Los Angeles unit of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger Co. last month pleaded no contest last month to 62 charges, including 19 counts of mislabeling; 18 counts of selling items that weigh less than they are supposed to; 15 counts of false advertising; and 10 counts of offering items for sale that weight less than they are supposed to, according to Frank Mateljan of the L.A. City Attorney’s Office.
Ralphs was cited for similar violations in 2008 and 2009 and paid nearly $17,000 in fines.
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