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Walmart Class Action Claims App Misleads Customers by Showing Lower Prices

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Walmart Class Action

Walmart Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit filed against Walmart claims that the retail giant misleads consumers by advertising prices on its online app that are lower than those offered in stores. The lawsuit is still in the early stages, but it could affect many people since Walmart is a popular retailer for normal purchases and even sourcing for resale.

Plaintiff Sofia Maynez says she used Walmart’s app to view prices of items, which she then purchased in-store. Huggies Wipes as advertised for $5.44 on the Walmart app, and Huggies Pull Ups advertised at $8.97 on the app. But, she paid $12.54 for the Huggies Wipes, and $31.84 for the Huggies Pull Ups in-store.

The Walmart class action says the retail giant makes a widespread practice of misrepresenting prices on its app. Maynez is seeking damages on behalf of herself and all other similarly affected consumers around the country who, in the last four years, used Walmart’s e-commerce app, found a quoted price, and then purchased the same item at a store for a price higher than that advertised on the app at the time of their purchase.

Additionally, she hopes to represent an Injunctive Relief Class of those consumers who saw a price on the app, but were offered the item at a higher price in-store, even if they did not purchase the item.

The Walmart pricing class action lawsuit asserts that Walmart knew that its online prices were lower than the in-store prices, and made them inconsistent in an act of “fraud, malice, and conscious disregard” for the rights of its consumers. Allegedly, the company was unjustly enriched by its misrepresentation of online and in-store prices, at the expense of its unknowing consumers.

Lawsuit Details

The Walmart App Pricing Inconsistency Class Action Lawsuit is Sofia Maynez v. Walmart Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-0023, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

HT: Top Class Actions

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DDG
DDGhttp://dannydealguru.com
Based in NYC. Points/miles enthusiast for years and actively writing about it for the last 6+ years at Danny the Deal Guru. I'm always looking out for deals. Making a few bucks is always nice, but the traveling is by far the best part of this business.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. This is happening to me now. Violates three California law
    1. Unfair Competition Law,
    2. Consumer Legal Remedies Act
    3. False Advertising Law.

    The price listed for Gerber 4 pack onsies are $1.00 sale in store purchase only. I drove to walmart however in-store the price listed is $7.95. I went to customer service and they could not honor this misleading price. This is wrongfully representing prices to entice consumers to visit in store purchase. This is so wrong, especially during Covid-19.
    March 27th 9:39AM

  2. On the phone with them right now for the very same issues. Made a list last night, took screenshots….made my way all the way there. Made sure every item, color was correct and matched their stores description to website. They wouldn’t even entertain matching not one item. I left a whole cart full of items there. Have spent hours on the phone with them today and the manager at corporate was so rude. I cannot comprehend how a store can advertise on their allocations website a price and then say nope. Corporate is saying it’s up to the store manager. My girlfriend went to another location near us and she got the prices that were on line. It’s not right. I’m considered high risk due to donating a kidney and am injured. I really tried to plan ahead so I could be in at out and instead had one of the managers spitting in my face that’s it was to bad…items are what they scan. It even tells you the aisle the product is in. It’s not right. They should not be allowed to take advantage of consumers like this…especially in a time like this.

  3. Every store does this. Target, Petsmart, etc. Buy it online for in-store pickup (with a discounted gift card, of course!).

  4. Not commenting on the practice but these lawsuits are exactly why things are so expensive. All these people had the option to not buy the product quoted in the app in store if they weren’t happy enough with the price. It’s that simple. Instead we have a lawsuit which leads to enormous legal costs for the retailer when every individual consensually and voluntarily paid the price they paid.

    • I disagree. This literally happened to me Saturday. Saw one price drove to the store, price was higher. Might’ve looked elsewhere had I known this in advance.

      • On top of that the price on the shelf is lower than what I got charged. So there were increasing prices and couldn’t see the actual price until I was at checkout

  5. Yes this is true . They play games . I found items on the grocery app which were marked one price o the shelf and it rang up higher. Customer service got nasty with me and it took forever for them to go to the shelf to get me the right price and I am sure every other customer paid higher as they correct nothing

  6. I’ve known this for a long time. Just take your app price up to register and they price match. They do this with other app prices too.

  7. Target does this on a regular basis. Simple solution is to challenge them at the register (if you have a smartphone and can access their website for the lower price) and they back off immediately by matching the price.

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