Whole Foods to pay $500K to settle overcharging allegations

Whole Foods agreed to pay New York City $500,000 to settle allegations that it had mispriced several of its prepackaged products.

As part of the settlement, the Department of Consumer Affairs said Whole Foods must conduct quarterly in-store audits at all its New York City stores. There was a pack of chicken tenders for $4.85 and coconut shrimp for $14.84.

A spokesman for Whole Foods said the Austin, Texas, grocery chain already has third-party audits to ensure pricing accuracy.

“While WFM refused to consider the DCA’s initial demands of $1.5 million, we agreed to $500,000 in order to put this issue behind us so that we can continue to focus our attention on providing our New York City customers with the highest level of quality and service”, the company said in a statement.

While the DCA found numerous instances overcharging, Whole Foods highlights the fact that the department’s investigation revealed Whole Foods had no intent to deceive or intentionally overcharge customers.

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs said the settlement also requires the company to adhere to standards aimed at preventing overcharging.

The investigation generated national headlines, prompting Whole Foods co-CEOs John Mackey and Walter Robb to apologize in an online video.

Pedestrians and motorists pass in front of a Whole Foods Market store in Union Square, Wednesday, June 24, 2015, in NY. He said he does not understand why was Whole Foods was singled out when their track records are nearly the same with other supermarkets out there.

In at least one location, the retailer was selling three stalks of asparagus in a bottle half filled with water for $5.99.

After thousands of people took to the Internet to discuss “Asparagus Water(gate)”, Whole Foods addressed the outlandish item. However it agreed to pay the fine as it said, we want “put this issue behind us”.

“It was meant to be water with the essence of vegetables and/or mushrooms (similar to bone broth), which is typically made over a long period of time soaking in water”, Burkhart explained.