Walmart to pay $5.6M settlement in lawsuit claiming it overcharged customers

Walmart has agreed to pay millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit that alleged the retailer overcharged shoppers.

The lawsuit said that the company sold items that weighed less than what their label described, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The suit also claimed that Walmart charged customers prices that were higher than their lowest advertised or posted price, USA Today reported.

“When someone brings an item to the register to be scanned, the price must be right,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “They expect it. California expects it. My office expects it — and we will apply the law to make sure of it.”

Walmart will pay $5.5 million in civil penalties and will make sure employees accurately weigh and price items in California.

In addition to the civil penalties, the company will pay almost $140,000 for the cost of the investigation and Santa Clara County itself receives $1.375 million, the Times reported.

The settlement only covers claims by four California county district attorneys.

This is not the first time California has sued Walmart.

The California Department of Justice said Walmart agreed in 2012 to pay $2.1 million for overcharging customers, USA Today reported. The company, in that case, was also accused of violating a 2008 judgment that required it to fix pricing errors at checkout stands, according to The Los Angeles Times.