OLYMPIA — Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed a consumer protection lawsuit on April 27 alleging that Albertsons Companies, the corporate owner of Safeway, Albertsons, and Haggen grocery stores, systematically overcharged Washington consumers in more than 3 million transactions over a five-year period through misleading “buy one get one free” (BOGO) promotions.
“We’re not going to stand for people getting fleeced by these deceptive practices,” said Attorney General Brown. “That’s why we’ve filed this case. We want to make sure we’re protecting people’s pocketbooks, and we all know that affordability is a major issue these days. We’ve got to push back when companies are misleading their customers.”
Boise-based Albertsons Companies operates all 225 Safeway, Albertsons, and Haggen stores across Washington state.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, claims the stores lure customers with BOGO deals on everyday staples such as bread, cereal, fresh produce, and olive oil. In the weeks or months leading up to each promotion, the stores artificially inflate the price of the featured items. Once the BOGO period ends—typically within about 30 days—the prices are lowered again. As a result, consumers believe they are receiving a second item for free, when in reality they are simply paying an inflated price for the first item.
For example, an Albertsons store in Gig Harbor raised the price of a bottle of olive oil from $6.99 to $10.99—a 57% increase—just before launching a BOGO promotion. The price dropped back to $6.99 immediately after the deal ended, the AG’s Office says.
This is not the first time Albertsons has faced allegations of unfair and deceptive BOGO practices in the Pacific Northwest. In 2016, the company paid $107 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over misleading “buy one get one free” deals at its Oregon stores. It also settled a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in 2023 in federal court concerning similar deceptive BOGO promotions at Washington stores.
The Attorney General’s Office alleges that Albertsons Companies violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act by:
- Engaging in unfair and deceptive acts or practices through the artificial inflation of pre-BOGO prices followed by rapid price reductions after the promotion;
- Misrepresenting prices, thereby engaging in an unfair method of competition.
Attorney General Brown is asking the court to declare the stores’ conduct unlawful, permanently halt the deceptive BOGO promotions, order full restitution to affected Washington consumers, and impose civil penalties for each violation of state law plus pre-judgment interest.
Author: Mario Lotmore
