Breaking a promise and overcharging for products is a pretty shady deal to begin with, but when the company you’re taking money from is the already financially-strapped U.S. Postal Service, it’s like rubbing salt in the wound. Hewlett Packard has agreed to pay $32.5 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the USPS for nine years.

The settlement stems from a period of time between October 2001 and December 2010 when HP allegedly didn’t comply with pricing terms set forth in a contract with the USPS, Reuters reports.

Part of that contract stipulated that HP wouldn’t charge USPS prices greater than those offered to the company’s other comparable contracts, according to the Justice Department.

Additionally, the Justice Dept. alleges that HP made misrepresentations during the negotiation of the contract regarding its pricing and its plans to ensure it would provide the required most favored customer pricing.

While HP didn’t admit liability in the case, a spokesperson for the company says HP is “happy to find a mutually acceptable resolution” and “values its ongoing relationship” with USPS.

Hewlett-Packard to pay $32.5 million to settle USPS pricing case [Reuters]

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