Contacts:
Miranda Pomiecko, (216) 698-2546; mpomiecko@cuyahogacounty.us 


CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH – In anticipation of the statewide tax holiday August 3rd-5th, the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs’ Weights and Measures inspectors in July conducted surprise price checks at 52 stores to make sure consumers would get the advertised or posted prices on back-to-school items. Fifteen stores failed by ringing up the wrong price on at least one of 25 randomly selected back-to-school items.

Eleven of the stores that failed had multiple errors.

“This is a disappointing performance by area stores,” said Sheryl Harris, Director of Consumer Affairs. “We only checked back-to-school supplies, which are popular right now. Whether stores undercharge or overcharge, it’s hard for families to take advantage of the best deals if prices ring up wrong at the register.”

Dollar General at 27561 Euclid Road, in Euclid, had 11 errors, more than any other store tested. Some of those errors involved back-to-school supplies that were shelved with price signs for different items.

The store with the largest overcharge was the Target at 24646 Brookpark Road, North Olmsted. A backpack with a shelf price of $31.49 rang up at $34.99 – meaning a consumer would have paid $3.50 more than he or she expected.

The 13 other stores that failed were:

• CVS Pharmacy, 212 W. Bagley Road, Berea;
• CVS Pharmacy, 27089 Bagley Road, Olmsted Township;
• Discount Drug Mart, 13123 Detroit Ave., Lakewood;
• Family Dollar, 1915 S. Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights;
• Family Dollar, 5522 Turney Road, Garfield Heights;
• Family Dollar, 7194 Columbia Road, Olmsted Township;
• Marc’s, 1650 Snow Road, Parma;
• Office Max, 17171 Southpark Center Dr., Strongsville;
• Office Max, 4057 Richmond Road, Warrensville Heights;
• Walgreens, 21010 Center Ridge Road, Rocky River;
• Walgreens, 20200 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Heights;
• Walgreens, 3020 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights;
• Walmart, 24801 Brookpark Road, North Olmsted.

Inspectors tested a total 1,300 items, 25 per store. Because the sample is so small, a store must have 0 errors to pass. When Weights and Measures inspectors find overcharges – errors that harm consumers – stores are required to immediately fix the error while the inspector is there to verify. In addition, the stores are subject to reinspection.

The bright spot in the tests were the 37 stores that passed:

• CVS Pharmacy stores located at 14372 Snow Road, Brookpark; 2160 Lee Road, Cleveland Hts.; 15501 Detroit Ave., Lakewood; CVS, 7259 Pearl Road, Middleburg Hts.; 23351 Lorain Road, North Olmsted; 2007 Brookpark Road, Parma; 19950 Detroit Ave., Rocky River; 4460 Mayfield Road, South Euclid; 13956 Cedar Road, University Hts.; and 30791 Detroit Road, Westlake;
• Discount Drug Mart stores at 725 E. 200th St., Euclid; 6160 Brecksville Road, Independence; 8191 Columbia Road, Olmsted Falls; 6476 York Road, Parma Hts.;
• Dollar General stores at 390 W. Bagley Road, Berea; 7120 Brecksville Road, Independence; 6164 Dunham Road, Maple Hts.; and 4279 Mayfield Road, South Euclid;
• Family Dollar stores at 12220 Madison Ave., Lakewood, and 4305 Monticello Blvd., South Euclid;
• Five Below stores at 4816 Ridge Road, Brooklyn; 3040 Westgate Plaza, Fairview Park; and 4051 Richmond Road, Warrensville Hts.;
• Marc’s stores 7510 Chippewa Road, Brecksville; 7359 Northcliff Ave., Brooklyn; and 6849 Southland Dr., Middleburg Hts.;
• Office Max stores at 3462 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Hts., and 30215 Detroit Road, Westlake;
• Staples stores at 5950 Mayfield Road, Mayfield Hts., and 12421 Pearl Road, Strongsville;
• Walgreens stores at 8966 Brecksville Road, Brecksville; 20485 Euclid Ave., Euclid; 5090 Turney Road, Garfield Hts.; 5264 Lee Road, Maple Hts.; 24590 Lorain Road, North Olmsted; 16400 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Hts.; and 25524 Center Ridge Road, Westlake.

“Consumers should watch prices as they ring up on the register and demand a price check if there’s an error,” Harris said. “Consumers who can’t get errors corrected at the store or who see multiple errors should file a complaint with our office.”

The Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs can be reached at 216-443-7035 or file a complaint online at consumeraffairs.cuyahogacounty.us.