County accepts 2024 consumer‑protection report; DA‑led Safeway settlement highlighted

Marin County’s Weights & Measures team presented the county’s 2024 Consumer Protection Report on May 6 and highlighted enforcement activity that led to a multi‑million‑dollar settlement with Albertsons/Safeway over pricing and package weight accuracy.

Weights & Measures Director Joe Divini and inspector Kayla Friedrichson told the Board the department performed thousands of inspections last year — gas pumps, scales, price accuracy on grocery items — and saw a decline in overcharges from 4.3% in 2023 to 3% in 2024. The department also reported a 29% increase in consumer complaints, with a concentration of complaints tied to a customized digital coupon system used by Safeway that was not being honored at register in some stores.

Divini credited the Marin County District Attorney’s Office for filing a statewide suit; inspectors described findings of overcharges and incorrect package weight statements. The presentation said Albertsons/Safeway agreed to pay fines in the multi‑million dollar range (staff cited an offered settlement of about $3.9 million) and to revise price‑accuracy policies. County staff said that similar enforcement actions have been taken against other large grocers in recent years and that weights‑and‑measures inspections focus first on protecting shoppers and the county’s most financially vulnerable residents.

Supervisors accepted the report; staff said printed copies would be made available at libraries and the department would continue outreach to low‑income communities and to retailers.

Ending: The department asked residents to report suspected price or weight inaccuracies; staff said inspections prioritize areas where overcharges have a disproportionate economic effect.