BevMo! pays $350k for overcharging customers
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - The popular beer and liquor chain BevMo! will pay more than $350,000 as part of a consumer protection case in California.
The payment comes as the company was found to have charged customers more at the register than the prices posted in store and in advertisements.
BevMo! Inc. paid $359,043 to resolve the case, which covers penalties, costs and restitution in the case. The company did not admit liability, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
BevMo! will also refund $18,000 to impacted customers through the company's loyalty program. Customers who have a BevMo! loyalty account and purchased the overpriced items will be automatically credited an equal rate to their account. They will not have to apply for the credit.
The company will also pay restitution in the amounts of $6,005 to the Consumer Protection Prosecution Trust Fund and $6,004 to the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association Trust Fund. They'll pay $70,700 in civil penalties to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office and $3,360 in costs to the Santa Barbara County Weights & Measures Department.
Under the terms of the settlement, BevMo! agreed not to commit any future violations as well as begin a pricing accuracy program in California.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, the company cooperated with the investigation and resolution of the case.
The case was filed in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of the People of the State of California.
