Carquest Auto Parts to Pay $750,000 in Civil Penalties and Costs in Civil Lawsuit Settlement

Author: District Attorney
Date: 10/17/2024 1:34 PM

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced today that the parent companies of Carquest Auto Parts will pay $750,000 to settle allegations of false advertising and unfair competition committed across numerous counties in California.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, California - A multi-county civil enforcement lawsuit led by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Consumer Protection Unit has settled with a Stipulated Judgment. The civil lawsuit 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 civil complaint was filed in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on September 27, 2023, by the prosecution team which included District Attorneys' Offices in San Luis Obispo, San Diego, and Santa Barbara counties. 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 7-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, the Weights and Measures 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.

Carquest had previously settled a similar lawsuit in 2012 that was filed in San Diego County Superior Court. At that time Carquest paid $242,715.40 and agreed to initiate additional audits of its products to ensure price accuracy.

District Attorney Dow stated, "Many shoppers have had the frustrating experience of being charged at the register a higher price than advertised on the store shelf. Our Consumer Protection laws require accuracy and assure confidence and integrity in the marketplace." Mr. Dow added, "I am pleased with the efforts in this case by our office's Consumer Protection Unit and that of our partners in the San Diego County and Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Offices."

The current Judgment requires Carquest to pay $657,000 in civil penalties and an additional $93,000 to cover the costs of investigation and to support future enforcement of consumer protection laws. The parent companies of Carquest also agreed to follow price-accuracy laws. The case was prosecuted in San Luis Obispo County by Deputy District Attorney Ken Jorgensen assigned to our Special Prosecutions Division which includes Public Integrity, Consumer Protection, Environment Protection, and White-Collar Fraud units.

Click here for a copy of the civil complaint and the stipulated final judgment.

Consumers may report price accuracy issues to the San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures by using the Weights and Measures Online Complaint Form.

To report a consumer complaint directly to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office, you may submit a complaint form, found here:

CONSUMER COMPLAINT FORM ENGLISH

CONSUMER COMPLAINT FORM SPANISH

Please contact Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805.781.5819 with any questions.

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