Suit claims BOGO meat deals are illusory at Albertson's and Safeway
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A lawsuit filed in Oregon claims consumers aren’t getting a deal in “buy one, get one” meat promotions at Albertson’s and Safeway stores.
The May 4 suit (PDF) claims the stores raise the per-pound price of meat offered in the BOGO promotions and the free product is “illusory,” the Oregonian reports. The would-be class action claims the pricing is unfair and deceptive in violation of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act.
The suit lists some examples. The Club Card price of boneless, skinless chicken breasts was $1.88 a pound, but the BOGO price of those chicken breasts with seasoning was $9.99 a pound. Similarly, beef bottom round steak was priced at $4.99 a pound, while the BOGO price for the steak with seasoning was $12.99 a pound, the suit says.
Other add-ons for BOGO items with higher per-pound prices include thin slicing and breading, the suit says. Those add-ons do not add value, however, because the stores offer seasoning and thin slicing for free on regularly priced meats when requested by the consumer, the suit says.
The stores also change the name of meats sold at BOGO prices, the suit claims. “Petite sirloin” is sold seasoned and thin-sliced in the BOGO program, but it’s sold without those extras at regular, lower prices under the names “round tip steak,” “sirloin petite roast” and “beef sirloin petite steak boneless,” according to the suit.
A spokeswoman for Albertsons and Safeway, Jill McGinnis, told the Oregonian that the company does not comment on pending litigation. “However, we stand behind our product offerings and our efforts to provide quality, service and value to our customers,” she said.
