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Walgreen's fined for expired sales ads

Judge rules they violated 2014 Missouri agreeement
Posted at 5:01 PM, Jun 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-20 18:44:32-04
You can't miss it when you walk into any Walgreen's. Immediately, you're hit with signs indicating an item is on sale or buy one get one free.
 
But Missouri's attorney general says Walgreen's violated a 2014 agreement more than 300 times. That agreement barred the chain from leaving sales tags up more than 12 hours after the sale had ended.
 
The violations resulted in a $309,000 fine.
 
"I know it's frustrating from a consumer standpoint," said Tracie Fobes. "We really rely on these stores when they put an ad out that that's what we're going to get."
 
Fobes has built a career as the "Penny Pinchin' Mom." Through her website, she advises hundreds of thousands of people across the country how to save money. She says she's been victimized several times by expired advertised sales in a variety of stores.
 
Her advice is to take a picture of the shelf area with the advertised sales items you're buying. If there's an issue at the checkout counter, show the picture to the clerk.
 
She also says bring any ads of sales items you intend to buy with you. She says the price will typically be honored, even if the sale has expired.
 
The 41 Action News Investigators went on a shopping trip to the Raymore Walgreen's and took pictures of the sales items and the tags advertising them. One item was for sunscreen for $2 off. Other items, including laundry detergent, were buy one get one free, paper towels for $2 off and coconut water normally $2.69 each was two for $4.
 
The Investigators' receipt and the sales checked out as advertised.
 
But as the attorney general and the Penny Pinchin' Mom note, not every shopping trip works out for the consumer.
 
"Week after week, that adds up and that's a huge burden on families," Fobes said.
 
A representative for the Missouri Attorney General's Office says their investigators rely on a combination of consumer complaints, inspections and independent audits to determine whether or not Walgreen's is following the 2014 consent judgment.
 
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Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.

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