The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets,through the work of its Consumer Protection inspectors, turns up about a dozensuch violations each year.  In mostcases, pricing discrepancies are minor and largely due to human error.  The Agency advises consumers to alwaysbe aware of what they are paying for items. Price Chopper St. Albans           $.10-.30                   Three major supermarket chains, one drug store chain, andone other national retailer have been cited and penalized for violating Vermontretail pricing laws.  Shaws, PriceChopper, and Grand Union Supermarkets; Rite Aid Pharmacy; and JC Penney have allagreed to pay penalties ranging from $1,000 to $3,500 for overcharging consumersfor items in their stores. Retailer          $2,255 For more information, contact Michael Duane, AssistantAttorney General, at (802) 828-3178, or Henry Marckres, Consumer ProtectionChief at the Agency of Agriculture at (802)828-3458. Price Chopper Essex               $.10-1.00                 “What concerns us is that these errors were on non-saleitems,” Assistant Attorney General Michael Duane said.  “When an item goes on sale, it isconceivable, albeit not acceptable, for a retailer to enter an incorrect pricewhen re-programming a scanner. However, when the error is on an ‘everyday’ price, that mistake isprotracted over a longer period of time, most often to the advantage of theretailer.” $1,035 The violations were discovered during routine surveys byinspectors from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.  In all five stores, inspectors foundthat prices at registers were higher than prices advertised on shelves forcertain items.  Those discrepanciesranged from $.02 to $14.  Aninvestigation found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing, but there werefactors about these discrepancies that concernedofficials. *Penalties are determined based on the number ofviolations at an individual store $.10-.40                   $1,035 JCPenny Berlin                       $1.50-14.00               Shaws Williston            Price Chopper Colchester           $.02-.29                   $1,605 $.02-14.00               $1,305 $2,255 Price Chopper Burlington           $.10-1.00                 $.04-2.00                 $5,755 (More) $2,105 Supermarket Chains Fined Nearly $20,000 for Violating VTRetail Pricing Laws $2,550 Rite-Aid St. Johnsbury              $.10-1.00     Grand Union Swanton               $.10-1.00                 Total                “Our advice to consumers is to be vigilant in checkingout that the shelf price actually rings up at the same price at checkout,”Agriculture Secretary Steve Kerr says. “This is especially so when customers buy many items at one time, like insupermarkets.  Our Vermont retailstores generally have good track records, but human error can occur, and we wantto know about it.” Range of ScannerDiscrepancies            Penalty* $19,900 Shaws Waitsfield