A Pak’nSave in Mangere is facing twelve charges of misrepresenting the price of its products, after Commerce Commission staff conducted undercover mystery shops to determine the price discrepancies.

The Commission alleges that on six dates during June and October 2018, its mystery shoppers were charged a higher price at the checkout for one or more items than the promotional price displayed on shelves or on the Pak’nSave Mangere website.

Price discrepancies were raised with customer service staff at the store immediately following the mystery shop, and the same products were purchased again the following day to determine if the prices had been changed to reflect what was advertised – it some cases, they had not been. 

Each Pak’nSave store is individually owned and operated, with the Mangere store operated by Kennedy’s Foodcentre (2003) Limited. The owner of the Pak’nSave brand, Foodstuffs, has been contacted for comment.

Pak’nSave Mangere owner Michael Kennedy said in a statement the store took pricing very seriously.

“As soon as we were aware, immediate steps were taken to minimise the chance of this happening again, including additional training in-store,” Kennedy said. 

“We try not to make mistakes, but if we do, we always work to correct them.”