FROM: Amy Cornell, Public Information Officer (408) 792-2997   CONTACT: Ken Rosenblatt, Supervising Deputy District Attorney (408) 792-2572   For release on October 30, 2008   KRAGEN AUTO PARTS TO PAY $665,000 IN PRICE SCANNER CASE   District Attorney Dolores A. Carr announced today that her office and the district attorneys for San Bernardino and Santa Cruz counties filed a civil law enforcement action against CSK Auto, Inc. (“CSK”), which does business in California as Kragen Auto Parts.  The complaint alleges that the Kragen stores violated the law by charging amounts greater than the lowest price advertised or posted for products sold to retail customers.  The stipulated final judgment was filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court on October 28, 2008.   Without admitting wrongdoing, CSK consented to entry of a judgment that includes the payment of $665,610.10 in civil penalties, costs, and restitution and injunctive provisions to ensure future compliance.  The judgment requires CSK to implement additional audit and price accuracy procedures in its California stores for a five year period to ensure compliance with pricing accuracy requirements.  CSK must also implement a Scan-Right Guarantee to compensate consumers when they find they have been charged more than the lowest advertised or posted price.  Signs explaining the guarantee will be posted in all California Kragen stores.    The case arose from regular scanner inspections by the Department of Weights and Measures in the counties of Santa Clara, San Bernardino and Santa Cruz, which coordinated their investigations with departments in other counties.  These local agencies, and the State Division of Measurement Standards, are instrumental in monitoring stores to make sure that consumers are getting the advertised prices.  Scanner inspections at the Kragen stores disclosed  numerous occasions where the price charged at the cash register was not the lowest advertised or posted price.  CSK cooperated with inspectors and the District Attorneys’ Offices during the investigation, and has since instituted new policies and procedures to improve pricing accuracy.   District Attorney Carr stated, “While scanning errors are more often negligent than intentional misconduct, the result is that consumers are overcharged.   We want to make sure the public gets the best bargain advertised, which is what California law requires.  Consumers should watch the register when items are being rung up to catch pricing errors.  In addition to getting the correct price, the new Scan Right Guarantee rewards consumers who do catch overcharges.”     Santa Clara County consumers may call the Santa Clara County Department of Weights and Measures’ toll-free SCANNER HOTLINE at 1-866-SCANNER (722-6637) if they have a complaint or questions about pricing issues.   ###