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June 23, 2008
State
House
Boston MA
02111
RE:
Anti Consumer Price Disclosure Bill Moving
Dear Representative,
Last
week, House #4858, “An Act Relative to Clear and Conspicuous Price Disclosure”
was reported out from the Joint Committee on Community Development and sent to House Ways and
Means. Despite its title, this bill - as
currently written - is not an advancement in consumer protection, but rather is
a setback, as it severely weakens our price disclosure law.
Given these tough economic times, shoppers
need more and better price disclosure, not less.
The
bill, House #4858, attempts to merge the state food store item pricing law with
the AG's item pricing regulation. It would allow ALL "retailers",
including supermarkets, to stop putting prices on items if they install
self-service price scanners in some – but not all – store aisles (otherwise,
they can continue item pricing, but with many more exemptions).
While the bill also requires a
price label on displays or shelves, even that price will
be harder to read because the
bill eliminates the current minimum one-inch high price requirement.
Specifically, the bill will weaken our price disclosure
laws in the following ways:
â— The bill allows supermarkets to remove price stickers on items,
and substitute in-aisle self-service
scanners located one every 5000 square feet (equivalent to being only in every second or third aisle);
â— Advertised sale prices (and the
prices of thousands of other items) would not be required to be either marked
on items nor show up on aisle scanners; and for stores that choose to continue item pricing, sale
items (and 16 categories of goods including up to 2500 never-before-exempt
items) would no longer need to be individually priced;
â— Fewer violations are
fineable. Despite eliminating many of
the current pricing requirements, the bill invites even less compliance as it
eliminates or fails to impose fines for incorrect prices on items, certain
aisle scanner violations, overcharging customers, erroneous checkout scanners,
failing to make price lists available in stores with aisle scanners, or failing
to post and honor price guarantees;
â— Aisle
scanners would only momentarily display the price and would not have to be
capable of printing price
stickers as the Attorney General currently requires;
â— The law governing inspections of
checkout scanners would be abolished,
thus eliminating mandatory
periodic store inspections; and there is no explicit 98% accuracy standard set
for checkout scanners;
â— Wholesale clubs would be exempt
from all price disclosure requirements, checkout scanner and in-aisle scanner
accuracy inspections, as well as any state oversight;
â— Inspections and fines are
reduced. Retailers with aisle scanners
could not be inspected more than once a year, generally. Fines for these retailers would be reduced
90%, and time-consuming criminal court action would be required to assess the
mere $250 per-inspection fine.
Currently, inspectors can impose civil administrative fines, issued like
parking tickets, of up to $2500 per inspection per week. Without
strong financial disincentives, compliance with even the new minimal price
disclosure requirements will likely be low.
Sometimes,
old technology like the lowly price sticker does a better job than higher-tech gadgets
like aisle-scanners.
Information – particularly price information that is
accurate, comparable, and meaningful – is the tool that consumers use to
exercise their "clout" in the marketplace. When basic consumer
information is misleading, absent, random, or not in a form that can be
compared, the consumer's power in the marketplace is unfairly and needlessly
compromised. When the consumer's power or "choice" is compromised,
the industry (retailer, manufacturer, and advertiser) is then better able to
take advantage of the consumer.
Given the importance of such a basic consumer protection, I
urge you to vote against the bill and share your concern with the Speaker of
the House.
Sincerely,
Deirdre Cummings
MASSPIRG
617-292-4800
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