Consumerist: stop & shop

Stop & Shop: Cheese From The Deli 66% More Expensive Than The Same Cheese On The Shelf

Carey — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:46:07 EDT

Reader J noticed the Cabot cheddar on Stop & Shop's shelf carries a 66% markup when purchased from the deli department. Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar sells for $4.38 per pound on the shelf, while the exact same cheddar costs $7.29 in the deli department.

The store manager could not explain the price difference, but Cabot could. Cabot's letter and the big cheese, after the jump...

The cheese on the shelf. Note the price per pound label. The cheese in the deli department with a significantly higher price per pound. Cabot sent reader J coupons worth almost $8, and this letter: When grocers markup a price, it is ostensibly because the item has been prepared and received added value, even though the preparation rarely justifies the exorbitant markup. There is no preparation here, nor is there any added value. This is the exact same cheddar, repackaged with a higher price tag. Before purchasing from a special department, check to see if the item is sold for less on the shelf. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

How The Stop & Shop Thieves Stole Credit Card Info From Right Under The Cashier's Nose

Meg Marco — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:59:34 EST

Wondering how the Stop & Shop thieves stole credit card information from right under the cashier's nose? They built their own working card readers and installed them while the Stop & Shop employees were distracted. Pretty clever, but pretty dangerous for consumers. From the Wall Street Journal:

In the Stop & Shop case, police say that late at night — after shopping crowds had thinned and the staff was whittled to a skeletal crew — four young men entered several stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, distracted employees and replaced several card-swiping machines with devices that looked similar. The thieves' systems, however, housed mini circuit boards that recorded customers' data and PINs.

A few days later, the suspects retrieved the systems. Counterfeit debit cards were quickly made using the collected financial data and disseminated, along with the related PINs, on the black market. Within days, more than $100,000 was withdrawn from ATMs as far away as California

"The unique thing about the circuit boards was that the transactions still went through" to the card processor, says Thomas Powers, head of the U.S. Secret Service in Providence. As a result, neither the stores nor the customers knew anything was amiss until the banks notified customers of what appeared to be unauthorized withdrawals from their accounts.
It appears that the suspects may have gotten away with similar skimming capers in several other cities, including Philadelphia, Miami, Las Vegas and Richmond, Va., police say. "They all have the same kind of modus operandi attacking the POS system," says Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch.

There's not a lot that a consumer can do to protect themselves from this type of fraud...except to closely monitor their banking statements.

Debit cards are more vulnerable specifically because they have less monitoring. Be careful out there. —MEGHANN MARCO

Skimming Devices Target Debit-Card Readers [WSJ]

MA Supermarkets Ban Hyper-Savvy Shopper

Ben Popken — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:24:53 EDT

One time we bought some kitty litter at a NJ Shop Rite and noticed the price at checkout was higher than on the in-store label. Standard store policy says this means we get it for free. We brought bag up to customer service. They sent a stock boy to check the aisle. He returned and said we were wrong. We went back to the shelves ourselves, grabbed the label, and presented it to the desk. Customer service people sheepishly gave us the litter on the house.

Good thing we didn't make a habit out doing so or we might have ended up like Alana Lipkin, banned from three MA supermarkets.

Lipkin is extremely adept at spotting price discrepancies. On a typical trip, the 45-year-old single mother of two scores over $200 in free goods. Her car and garage are filled with goods she's snagged.

Spokespeople for the supermarkets, Stop n' Shop, Shaw's and Star Market, call her a "disruptive influence."

Lipkin goes to stores just to find mispriced goods and get them for free. Consumer crusader or manipulator of store policy?

"Her mission: Find price errors, get free stuff" [Boston Globe]
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