Tuesday, September 22, 2026
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Ralphs Accused of Over-Charging on ‘Reduced’-Price Items
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Shoppers at Ralphs markets who buy sold-by-weight items that are nearing the expiration date and are marked with a red, yellow and white label proclaiming “REDUCED” are routinely not actually charged the discounted price that is set forth on the package, a putative class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleges.
In a complaint filed on Friday, Tarzana resident Brady Petrik, represented by counsel, sets forth claims “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated.” He asserts that despite the labels representing a price-slash, the payment exacted at the check stand is apt to be at original rate that was set when the product was at its freshest.
The action is against the Ohio-based Kroger Co., owner of Ralphs Grocery Company, which operates 183 Ralphs stores in 110 cities in California, along with 87 Food 4 Less stores in 64 cities in the state and 18 Foods Co. stores in 13 cities here.
Restricted to California
Petrik’s complaint defines the class as “[a]ll persons who purchased one or more Affected Reduced Price Products sold in-store at Ralphs, Foods Co, and/or Food 4 Less locations in California during the Class Period,” set at 2023 to the present.
The allegation is in line with information previously circulated. Sources include a Consumer Reports article last year saying:
“Shoppers at Kroger, one of the nation’s largest grocery chains, have been unknowingly paying full price at checkout for scores of items—from meat and vegetables to juice, rice, and alcohol—that have been advertised as discounted or on sale, a monthslong investigation by Consumer Reports and other news organizations found.”
Example Provided
The complaint, brought under California consumer-protection statutes provides the example of a cheese weighing .38 lbs., supposedly being sold at the reduced price of $6.58/lb., which should produce a charge of $2.50. The pleading says:
“Despite that unassailable fact, Defendants charge the customer $5.00, a $2.50 overcharge, and deceptively charge the customer $13.16 per pound instead of the advertised $6.58 per pound.”
It asserts:
“This is not a one-off or even a sporadic mistake. Defendants’ mislabeling is systemic, long-standing, frequent, and consistent across Kroger stores throughout California and other states. It is caused by programmatic failures in the technology, software, operating systems and procedures Defendants employ to price Reduced Price products, and that are controlled and directed by Kroger’s home office.”
‘Actual Harm’ Alleged
The pleading alleges:
“By knowingly charging its customers a unit price that is higher than the advertised price per unit, Defendants have engaged, and continue to engage, in unfair, unlawful, and deceptive misconduct that caused Plaintiff and the other class members actual harm.”
Numerous purportedly actual examples of alleged over-charging are listed, including the proclaimed reduced price for goat cheese not having been applied at a Ralphs market on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.
Signed by California attorney Beena M. McDonald, practicing with a Philadelphia law firm, the complaint seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, restitution and disgorgement, penalties, interest, and attorney fees.
The case is Petrik V. Kroger Co., 2:26cv10658.
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