Convenience stores overcharging many consumers

From KLCC Studios, this is Oregon on the Record. I'm Michael Dunn. It's right there in the title, convenience store. We all know that when we go to 7-Eleven or Circle K, we're paying a little extra for the convenience of the transaction, and that a candy bar at one of these stores is probably going to cost a little more than a grocery store or big box store. What we probably don't know, and a new report reveals, is that these convenience stores have been getting away with charging a little more between their own shelves and the cash register. Today on the show, a Willamette University law professor will join us to talk about the fact that big national convenience store chains have been quietly upcharging customers for purchases and that regulators and legislators have by and large been letting them get away with it. That's next on Oregon on the Records. It should be as simple as riding a bike. You stop by your local convenience store, open the refrigerator, select a soda, take notice of the price, bring it up to the cashier, pay the same price, and you're on your way. But a new report shows that in many, many cases, the price you see on the aisle is not the same as what you'll pay at checkout. A Willamette University law professor joins us now to explain. David Friedman, law professor at Willamette University, who writes extensively about deceptive pricing in the American marketplace. Professor Friedman, it's great to talk to you. Thanks so much for coming on. Thank you for having me, Michael. Yeah, you know, I was reading a really extensive article in The Guardian that you were quoted in about some of America's biggest convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Circle K are kind of quietly overcharging customers. Can you kind of level set for the audience? What's going on here as you understand it? It's difficult

to say. what is actually going on within these within within these retailers what's going on within their corporate structure okay but what we know from this study that or this this investigation uh from the guardian is that this is indeed the case there are there are items that are and not this is not an infrequent practice but there are items that are on the shelves at convenience stores that when the consumer goes to the counter to ring them up. They're being rung up for a higher price. Notably, I didn't see any evidence of anything being rung up at a lower price. Interesting. So there's some questions about what is going on here systemically that is leading

to this outcome. Okay. From a legal perspective, even if it's unintentional, just mistakes, is this breaking the law?

Well, it is. It is a misrepresentation it is a misrepresentation in a deceptive way of what pricing is. And it's certainly, depending on what the standard is, it's certainly, if not negligent, it's, and I'm using this in a soft way, it's reckless. It is the expectation that if a consumer goes into a convenience store, that they're going to pay the price that is advertised on the shelf. Now, one of the things that sometimes private plaintiffs run into, particularly in a class action, is that there is a defense that essentially says, well, if the consumer is paying