CALIFORNIA—On Thursday, July 6, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that PetSmart LLC was ordered to pay $1.46 million to settle a lawsuit that alleges the company overcharged customers for items it listed in advertisements.
“Charging customers prices higher than what was advertised is misleading and unfair,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “Customers have the right to expect that the prices they see advertised will be honored. It’s important for companies to adhere to advertising regulations and ensure transparency in their pricing practices.”
The complaint was filed in Santa Cruz County on behalf of the district attorney’s offices in Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, San Diego, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties. It alleges PetSmart unlawfully charged customers prices higher than PetSmart’s lowest advertised price for items.
The company, admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, and will pay $1.25 million in penalties, $100,000 in restitution to support future enforcement of consumer protection laws and $110,000 in investigative costs.
PetSmart is prohibited from engaging in false or misleading advertising and charging an amount greater than the lowest price posted for an item. The settlement requires PetSmart to implement additional audit and price accuracy procedures in its California stores for a three-year period to ensure compliance with pricing accuracy requirements, including notifying customers of their right to be charged the lowest currently advertised price for any item offered for sale.
