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# Four additional stores accused of overcharging
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/four-additional-stores-accused-of-overcharging/
- Published: 2004-02-14T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:47:55.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Community, Promenade, #archive-import

*Customer’s always right, but worker can be wrong*

CITY HALL — Prosecutors have accused four more Santa Monica retailers of overcharging their customers.

Borders on the Third Street Promenade, the 99 Cent Only Store on Pico Boulevard, Sally Beauty on Lincoln Boulevard and Planet Funk in the Santa Monica Place mall each allegedly overcharged investigators by as much as $10 in an undercover sting last summer.

The latest allegations follow nine convictions against local retailers for overcharging customers by as much as $100\. Officials from the Gap pleaded no contest on Friday to overcharging a customer by $7.50\. To date, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins has ordered a total of $42,813.01 be paid in fines and penalties as a result of the convictions.

“Consumers should be very aware that overcharges are common,” said Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky, who is prosecuting the cases. “These undercover investigations often show as much as 20 or 30 percent of random items to be overcharged.

> “These undercover investigations often show as much as 20 or 30 percent of random items to be overcharged.” — — ADAM RADINSKY Deputy City Attorney

“We strongly urge everyone to double check, at the register, that the right price is coming out (on the receipt) — and if a higher price is charged, you have the right to demand the correct price, and you can report any violations to this office.”

Planet Funk allegedly overcharged a customer by $10 on a single item. Borders is accused of overcharging on three items, by $4, $3 and $2.40\. Prosecutors said Sally Beauty overcharged on two items, by $2.59 and $2, and the 99 Cent Only Store also overcharged on two items, by $2.97 and.99\. All four merchants will be arraigned in March.

David Margulies, spokesman for Sally Beauty, said he didn’t know the specifics surrounding the overcharges in question, but added that workers make mistakes when dealing with thousands of items and making millions of transactions each week.

“Of course it’s not intentional,” Margulies said. “There are rarely any errors made. In most cases, the consumers bring it to our attention... We have employees and they’re human beings, and sometimes things like that do happen, but rarely.”

Other stores targeted in the sting include Carlton Cards in Santa Monica Place, Walgreens on Wilshire Boulevard, the Coffee Bean on Montana Avenue, and Diesel, Bebe, Urban Outfitters, Barnes & Noble Bookstore and the Puzzle Zoo on the Promenade. The highest overcharge was at clothier Diesel, where an investigator was overcharged by $101.10 on one item.

Each violation of the misdemeanor law carries a maximum penalty of $3,300\. Also, each store must post a notice of violation in its window for 60 days.

The sting was conducted last summer by investigators from the Los Angeles County Weights and Measures bureau, a division of the LA County Department of Agriculture. About $400 will be paid to the bureau for each of the charges, covering the costs of the investigation, officials said.

Jeff Humphreys, deputy director of the Weights and Measures bureau, said his team of 14 inspectors regularly patrols all 8,400 LA stores with scanners. Since February of 2002, stores have been required to pay a sliding-scale registration fee for scanners to cover the costs of the investigations.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 14, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021404.pdf?ref=smdp.com)