N.J. Settles With These Auto Stores That Allegedly Ripped You Off, State Says

A popular auto parts chain has agreed to revise its business practices after a New Jersey investigation revealed numerous merchandise pricing violations.

The investigation, undertaken early last year by the state Division of Consumer Affairs Office of Consumer Protection and the state Office of Weights and Measures, found that seven AutoZone stores failed to plainly mark the total selling price on some merchandise.

Those stores are located in: Newark, Carteret, Elizabeth, Linden, Flemington and Plainfield.

Additionally, some merchandise scanned at the cash register reflected prices that were higher than the prices posted at the location in the store where the merchandise was displayed for sale, according to a release from the state Attorney General's Office.

“Consumers have a right to know the price of merchandise before they remove it from the shelves” said Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy. “Requiring consumers to wait until they are in a checkout line to discover the price deprives consumers of the opportunity to make an informed decision as to purchases and is in direct violation of our consumer protection laws.”

AutoZone entered into a Consent Order in which it agreed to conduct weekly merchandise price audits, create a pricing accuracy best business practices guide, provide annual pricing training for AutoZone’s New Jersey store managers, and employ a corporate pricing compliance coordinator to monitor AutoZone’s pricing accuracy in its New Jersey stores, according to the release.

AutoZone will also pay $47,500 to the state to cover civil penalties, investigative costs and attorneys’ fees.

“AutoZone has agreed to implement internal oversights to ensure that merchandise is priced accurately,” said Steve Lee, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. “Consumers will directly benefit from such reforms and we expect continued cooperation with AutoZone and careful adherence to the terms of the Consent Order.”

AutoZone is the largest of five New Jersey automotive parts retailers to settle allegations of pricing violations in the past year. Office of Consumer Protection investigations into Genuine Parts Company in New Brunswick, Wilson Auto Parts in Newark, Big Ed’s Automotive in Colonia, and Stuyvesant Auto Parts in Union, found that the automotive parts retailers also failed to plainly mark the total selling price on merchandise offered for sale in their stores.

Big Ed’s Automotive was additionally cited for not having its refund policy conspicuously posted for consumers to see. The Office of Consumer Protection settled its investigations with each of these retailers through Consent Orders in which these retailers agreed to not engage in any deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of their business, according to the release.

They also must comply with the Consumer Fraud Act, and to pay civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $7,500, as well as the Division’s investigative costs.

“There is nothing more misleading to consumers than inaccurate price labeling,” added Lee. “The Division’s actions send a clear message to retailers that they must take steps to ensure that merchandise offered for sale has a clearly marked price that matches the scanned price at checkout.”