NC fines Charlotte retailers for price-scanning problems. One had a 14% error rate.

Two Charlotte stores have paid fines for excessive price-scanning errors, state officials said Friday.

Save-A-Lot in the 3000 block of Freedom Drive paid $5,000 in penalties, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division.

An initial inspection in August found an error rate of 14 percent at the store, based on seven overcharges in a 50-item lot, the division said. A second inspection, in September, found an error rate of nearly 6.7 percent, based on 20 overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store passed inspection in November, according to the state.

And Super Target in the 12800 block of Walker Branch Road, off Steele Creek Road and South Tryon Street, paid $1,980 in penalties.

An initial inspection in August found an error rate of 3 percent, based on three overcharges in a 100-item lot, according to the state. A second inspection, in September, found an error rate of 4 percent, based on 12 overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store passed inspection in November.

The stores were among seven statewide that paid penalties in the fourth quarter of 2017 for excessive price-scanning errors, officials said. The others were in Alamance, Moore, Onslow, Richmond and Sampson counties.

“We want consumers to be confident the price on the shelf matches the price that’s scanned at the register,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. “Stores have a responsibility to make sure their pricing is accurate, and most stores pass inspection. Ones that don’t are fined until they come into compliance.

The department conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of the price-scanner systems of businesses to check for accuracy between the prices advertised and prices that ring up at the register.

If a store has more than a 2-percent error rate on overcharges, inspectors discuss the findings with the store manager and later conduct a more intensive follow-up inspection. Undercharges also are reported but do not count against a store. Penalties are assessed if a store fails a follow-up inspection.

Consumers who want to file a complaint about scanner errors can call the Standards Division at 919-707-3225.

This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 4:55 PM with the headline "NC fines Charlotte retailers for price-scanning problems. One had a 14% error rate.."