Three retailers continue arraignments until January on the Promenade — and Sears on Colorado Avenue, continued their arraignments to Jan. 16.
SM COURTHOUSE — Six of nine local retailers accused of overcharging customers pleaded guilty here on Wednesday and Thursday, agreeing to pay nearly $30,000 in penalties and fines.
Fashion outlets Diesel, Bebe and Urban Outfitters — all on the Third Street Promenade — Carlton Cards in Santa Monica Place mall, drugstore Walgreens on Wilshire Boulevard, and the Coffee Bean on Montana Avenue all agreed to pay the maximum penalty and post a 60-day notice of violation in front of their stores.
The six retailers will pay a collective $28,289.80 in fines and penalties, according to a sentence handed down by Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins. Three other retailers, the Gap and Barnes & Noble — both “We take this law very seriously, because it’s one of the few tools we have to fight this widespread consumer problem,” said Deputy City Attorney Adam Radinsky, who prosecuted the charges.
“We take this law very seriously, because it’s one of the few tools we have to fight this widespread consumer problem.” — — ADAM RADINSKY Deputy City Attorney
The stores were targeted in an undercover retail sting conducted last summer by investigators from the LA 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.
Clothier Diesel overcharged investigators the most, going a full $101.10 over the posted price on a total of three items. David Peterson, an attorney for Diesel, called the overcharge a “glitch,” and said it occurred as the store was installing a new computer-based pricing system. Josh Burell, general manager of Urban Outfitters, attributed the $10 overcharge at his store to a worker not double-checking new sales promotions.
Both said the mistakes are unlikely to occur again. Cato Fiksdal, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, said that during the holiday season, shoppers need to be extra mindful of the prices they pay, and to always check their receipts. One reason for overcharges are mistakes made amid the holiday hustle-and-bustle, a time when items frequently change prices. Another reason may be the increased numbers of part-time employees, who are not as experienced with the money, he added.
Jeff Humphreys, deputy director of the Weights and Measures bureau, said his team of 14 inspectors regularly patrols all 8,400 LA stores that have scanners. Since February of 2002, stores have been required to pay a sliding-scale registration fee for scanners.
Of the 6,800 stores inspected thus far, 1,450 overcharged investigators on at least one item, Humphreys said, adding that merchants are seven times as likely to charge more than the posted price for an item than they are to charge less.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 12, 2003. Read the original PDF.