Auto parts store to pay $750,000 settlement for overcharging

October 18, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

The parent companies of Carquest Auto Parts agreed to pay $750,000 to settle allegations of false advertising and unfair competition committed across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and San Diego county, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced Thursday.

A multi-county civil enforcement lawsuit led by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Unit alleged that parent companies running corporate-owned Carquest Auto Parts stores in California charged customers higher prices at checkout than the listed shelf price.

Carquest operates approximately 330 stores in North America with approximately 50 corporate-owned stores in California. The allegations in the lawsuit and settlement do not involve franchisee-owned stores.

The civil complaint alleged that Carquest unlawfully charged customers prices higher than its posted shelf price. The problem is often called a “scanner violation,” which occurs when the price charged at checkout is higher than the posted shelf price. The filed civil complaint detailed evidence collected by several counties’ weights and measures departments over a seven-year period:

•    Between 2017 and 2023, Carquest overcharged an average of 12% of the items tested.
•    In 2022, the number of items overcharged increased to 14%.
•    In the summer of 2023, inspectors from 20 counties inspected 43 stores, finding that 39 of the 43 stores failed the price accuracy inspection. It found that almost a quarter of the items inspected were overcharged.

“Many shoppers have had the frustrating experience of being charged at the register a higher price than advertised on the store shelf,” Dow said. “Our consumer protection laws require accuracy and assure confidence and integrity in the marketplace.”