Rip off: 14 supermarkets investigated, Pak'nSave Māngere had most uncorrected prices

Pak'nSave Māngere had the highest number of uncorrected price discrepancies. Photo / 123RF

More than a dozen supermarkets were investigated by the Commerce Commission about how often they deviated from advertised prices at checkout.

They visited 14 supermarkets in total across Auckland and Wellington, buying 20 items from each store per mystery shop.

On occasions where they were overcharged, the commission's mystery shoppers returned to some stores the next day to see if the prices had been corrected.

Pak'nSave Māngere, which earlier this week was slapped with a fine of $78,000 for price discrepancies, was investigated by the commission as it had the highest number of uncorrected prices.

The supermarket's owner Michael Kennedy said yesterday it was disappointing the pricing issues occurred.

"As soon as I was aware, significant steps were taken to minimise the chance of this happening again, including additional training in-store," he said.

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

Pak'nSave Māngere has been fined $78,000 for price discrepancies.

A spokeswoman for the commission says they conducted mystery shopper investigations to better understand price discrepancies at supermarkets.

They decided on selected stores by reviewing complaint data and public information to identify stores with complaints about pricing.

"We purchased a variety of goods that consumers would typically buy regularly including dry packaged, bakery, fresh produce, dairy and meat," she said.

"We wanted to replicate the consumer experience and purchase items advertised as discounted in supermarket mailers and in-store.

"We made a record of the advertised price and then compared this to the price we were charged at the checkout."

The offending charging a higher price at the checkout was between June and October, 2018.

Mushrooms priced at $4.99 were twice $2 more at the checkout, avocados advertised at three for $5 were charged at $1.99 each and sliced salmon going for $8.99 on the shelf cost $10.79 at the checkout four times.

Consumers should raise any issues with retailers if they spot them, Retail NZ says. Photo / 123RF

The spokeswoman said sometimes the commission paid less at the checkout and other times they paid more.

Prior to the mystery shop, Pak'nSave Māngere had received two complaints from members of the public about discrepancies.

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said yesterday the best way for Kiwis to avoid being ripped off when shopping is to check their receipts.

"Consumers shouldn't have to do this, they should be able to trust what they're paying is the price that was represented to them.

"How can you be expected to do a family shop, put 100 items in your trolley and then remember the shelf price of every single item?"

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford says retailers work hard to make sure their pricing is right and it was a good idea to review systems often.

Kennedy says his Pak'nSave team understands the significance of keeping a watchful eye on ticketing and price verification.

Antoinette Laird, the head of corporate affairs at Foodstuffs, the company which owns the Pak'nSave brand, says the trust of customers is of the utmost importance.

"Our stores take pricing and getting it right seriously," she says.

"If a customer ever feels they've been charged an incorrect amount, they should notify a staff member so we can look into it and correct it immediately if an issue has occurred."