Auckland Pak’nSave store fined for price disparity

Pak’nSave Mangere has been fined $78,000 for discrepancies between the advertised price of goods on its shelves and those charged at the till.

Owned and operated by Kennedy’s Foodcentre (2003), Pak’nSave Mangere admitted six charges of making false and/or misleading representations about price, under the Fair Trading Act 1986.

The shop was found to have charged several items at a higher price at the checkout compared to the price advertised at the supermarket shelf. Those items include sliced salmon (displayed at $8.99 but charged $10.79) and mushrooms (displayed at $4.99 but charged $6.99). 

The misrepresentation, which was carried out during June and October 2018, was found by a staff member of the Commerce Commission during mystery shopping. After informing customer service staff at the store, the staff returned the next day to double check. However, the price discrepancies were still occurring. 

“The pricing discrepancies related to a number of individual items across different departments of the supermarket and they were repeated, and the defendant did not immediately take steps to correct its pricing systems,” Judge McNaughton in the Manukau District Court said in a written decision. 

For the Commission, chair Anna Rawlings said that supermarkets must ensure that their systems are sufficiently robust to ensure that consumers are charged the right price and are not misled.

“Consumers should be able to trust that the price displayed on the shelf is the price they will be charged. If a mistake is made, businesses should ensure consumers are compensated and take immediate steps to ensure that the mistake is not repeated,” she said. 

The Pak’nSave brand is owned by Foodstuffs (NZ) Limited. However, each of its stores is individually owned and operated.

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