Ralph’s Grocery Stores Fined, Placed On Probation For Overcharging

Ralphs Grocery Co. was placed on three years probation today and ordered to pay fines and assessments totaling $67,618 for overcharging customers for prepackaged and weighed products at stores throughout Los Angeles.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson said some of the store’s problems stemmed from ice on prepackaged fish that increased the weight — and thus the cost — of the product, and he advised the store to “rinse the ice off the fish” to avoid future problems.

The grocery chain pleaded no contest last month to 62 charges, including 19 counts of mislabeling; 18 counts of selling items that weigh less than they are supposed to; 15 counts of false advertising; and 10 counts of offering items for sale that weight less than they are supposed to, according to Frank Mateljan of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

The plea — which involved both misdemeanor charges and infractions — came shortly before the case was scheduled to go to trial.

In a statement, a Ralphs spokeswoman said company representatives had “spent countless hours working with the City Attorney’s Office to try to reach a settlement agreement that was acceptable to both our customers and their office.”

Kendra Doyel, Ralphs’ group vice president of marketing, said the company believes the charges involved “isolated events,” but has “redoubled all of our efforts to ensure accuracy.”