If it's deliberate, then they need to increase the fine.

CVS in MA also shorts your pills. One or two per refill adds up over the course of a day. We took to counting the pills right in front of the counter and the register monkeys in pharm would just shrug and get the pharmacist who would also just shrug and fill it properly.

Haven't had that problem with CVS in CA now that we're here.

@Mooshie:
I think something along the lines of "The fine doubles for ever subsequent violation" would be quite effective.

@Aditya Pandurangi:
That should be "every subsequent"

Not that I am supporting CVS or the alleged practice, but it wasn't "consumer advocates" who visited the stores - it was a union backed group and I'm sure that CVS's strong anti-union stance played no rolling in their being targeted.

Massachusetts also has a law requiring EVERY item to have a price sticker vs just a shelf sticker. As someone who was worked in grocery in the state, I can understand how difficult it is to change prices on tens of thousands of items each week.

I can't remember any time CVS has rung up an item higher than it was marked that I've purchased.

@wrjohnston19283: no "roll" not rolling

@legotech:

CVS in MA also shorts your pills.

@Aditya Pandurangi: yes! and shall we apply this to all companies pulling crap like this?

I too live here in Mass. I shop at CVS occasionally when filling a script. I agree that the law requiring the labeling of every single item is ridiculous. There has been noise recently that they may kick the law. I always take note of what it costs for an item when I pick it up, and I have never had an issue with CVS trying to charge more than it was supposed to cost.

They should have correct signage for sure, and if they don't have the correct signs on the shelf, then the fines should be increased dramatically. However, people need to wake up and be a bit more self-actualized when it comes to price watching.

@wrjohnston19283: I was about to ask if this is one of those states where everything has to have a price sticker on it. This can take the process of changing prices from about 15 mins to easily over an hour. And its just a straight up pain in the ass.

I was in a cvs not too long ago and noticed they had all of the "african-american" beauty products under lock and key...litterally. Makes you wonder what kind of company it really is.

@badgeman46:

So did you conclude that the CVS in question randomly decided to lock up those particular items, or might there have been a high theft rate with them? It's probably why they lock up Whitestrips teeth-whitening kits, baby formula, and the pricier perfumes. And keep cigarettes behind the counter.

I initially thought that the title meant that CVS overcharges for the items they sell: i.e. they're expensive.

I never shop at CVS. Their prices are so ridiculous that it's insulting. Walmart charges $1.99 for this nail polish and CVS charges $3.49. And it's not just nail polish. Everything in the entire store.

@ElizabethD:

I make no judgements, only inferences. If the gillette mach 3s are out in the open, but the "bump guards" are locked up, there is obviously something going on here.

@themonkrat: Same here.

And I agree about the expensive part too. Here in New York City, I find that CVS and Duane Reade has among the highest base prices for the items they sell.

@Aditya Pandurangi: That would get tangled up in court. Think about it, all they'd have to do is disprove one of them, and the entire bill would have to be recalculated (costing a fortune in taxpayer dollars).

@themonkrat: Why oh why is the only store within walking distance of my college a CVS?

When I worked for CVS it regularly took 2-3 days for all the weekly sale prices to get programmed into the computers. A few times I remember prices not getting programmed in until a day or so before the sale ended. It wasn't intentional, just one of the consequences of a poorly run business.

711 beats 71 by 900 percent. Just saying.

I know you said "about" but we enjoy being anal about numbers round here, right?

@badgeman46:

Derr, maybe people steal bump guards more often than mach 3's?

@wrjohnston19283: role.

@Robobot: Yeah, I work at a CVS in the Boston area and it's true, items many times (usually cheap ones, like little chocolate easter eggs) are not programmed into the computer for a few days and thus, a cashier may put in 50 cents instead of 25 cents.

The problem I had with CVS (and the lack of individual pricing) is when they clearance items such as Easter or Xmas candy. The sign would say 75% or 90% off, but you didn't know what the original price was. Trying to do the math at the register and dispute the difference was painful.

@themonkrat: To me drug stores are just another form of convenience store. They have one main function but also sell other items at an elevated cost. Especially if you shop at a place like Wal-Mart, there are times I'd rather just pay an extra $2 so I don't have to spend half an hour getting some paper towels.

@wrjohnston19283: the store does not have to put prices on each item if it has those price check machines that print out stickers. That is why they have become popular.

This is ironic....I just bought some gel sole inserts for my new shoes 10 mins ago at the CVS in the building where I work. They were listed for $8.49. I bring it to the register and a 20% "store discount" is applied to make my total $6.79 (with no request from me). Thanks CVS for ripping off people in Massachusetts and passing the savings on to me!

@wrjohnston19283: Massachusetts stores do not have to price each item with stickers if they have price scanners available for customers. There's no excuse to have the shelf pricing wrong.

I've been overcharged at CVS but who has the time to go back to a store to argue about $2.00 or so. Sounds like CVS is banking on this to pad their profits.

@subsider34: Wow, those must be some expensive financial wizards they have, because I'm pretty sure I could figure out the adjusted costs with a couple minutes and a calculator.

@supercereal: If there were any way to definitively settle it, I'd take that bet. But even if you won, my own experience is the same as legotech's, which says that something that should never happen, does happen with some non-zero frequency.

@legotech: I had that problem at a local (MA) CVS too. But in that case, they just didn't read the instructions carefully (which is a whole different kind of carelessness). I needed 10 pills for 6 days and they gave me only 6 pills. I had to pull out the instruction sheet from my doctor to prove that I was taking a tapered dose and did indeed need the 10 pills.

Just 2 days ago I had a problem with being overcharged about $6 total from the CVS near my office.
Glad to see they were singling me out.

@trujunglist:

weren't

@legotech: We've experienced the same thing at our CVS in MA, but we don't count the pills right there, we at least wait until we get home and call right away. Happens around once every couple of months.

@supercereal: You doubt that after just reading an article on how it is CVS policy to not follow pricing laws? If CVS regularly overcharges customers in MA then I wouldn't consider it too surprising that they also regularly short pills.

@legotech:
I'm in Southern CA and I HAVE been shorted pills.
The next time I filled there (yes, I went back) I counted them out right on the counter in front of the staff and I have been quite lucky since with all pills present and accounted for.

Why do I go back? My reg pharmacy doesn't keep as big of a stock and I don't like to wait for things to be ordered. I have been dealing with an illness for several years and I get prescribed new things fairly often.
Convenience comes with a price.