By Chris Aldridge
Kentucky Ag News

A RetailMeNot survey found about three out of every four consumers are doing some last-minute Christmas shopping leading up to the big day. If you’re among those 74 percent, a scanner is most likely used to calculate the price you pay for your gifts.

As part of its regulatory role to protect Kentucky consumers, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) randomly inspects scanners at retail stores across the state.

“We’re here for consumers,” said Jason Glass, director of KDA’s Division of Regulation and Inspection.

KDA inspectors are hard at work this month inspecting retail establishments to confirm that consumers are charged the price that is posted on store shelves. Inspectors follow the procedure in National Institutes of Standards and Technology Handbook 130 to select items from the store inventory to compare the prices posted to prices charged.

“If you make a complaint to us (see two ways to do so below), we’ll go out and make sure they’re charging you right,” Glass said.

If that business’ scanners are found to be more than 2-percent inaccurate, KDA inspectors will return within 30-60 days to verify that the faulty scanners have been corrected or replaced. If the scanner fails a second inspection, the KDA uses its regulatory power to fine the business until the error is corrected.

“We go back until they pass,” Glass said. “We don’t want to go back repeatedly … but [we] go back to protect consumers.”

In North Carolina, price scanner errors are on the rise. Like Kentucky, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Standards Division conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of price scanners.

Normally, the department assesses fines on just a handful of stores statewide each quarter, but on Dec. 9, it announced that in the third quarter of 2022 it collected fines from 70 stores in 38 counties because of excessive price-scanner errors. North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said about 26 percent of price scanners that were inspected over the past year failed.

Although the price scanner errors weren’t as high in Kentucky, Glass said the KDA inspections are important to prevent that. Scanners are normally inspected during the winter months. In a nationally accepted procedure, various items are scanned to check the price.

“We don’t hit every store every year – there’s just too many,” Glass said. “I could keep a team of 50 inspectors busy just doing price verification inspections year round.”

Glass said if you encounter a scanner that you suspect charged you incorrectly, contact the KDA.

“We take a lot of consumer complaints,” Glass said. “We inspect every one of those.”

You can issue a complaint by filling out a complaint form (click here) or by calling (502) 573-0282.