The Loblaw grocery chain overcharged customers by selling underweighted meat across 80 stores for an undisclosed period that ended in December 2023, a CBC News investigation has found.

  • Cyborganism
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    413 hours ago

    Yeah I knew it.

    Went to buy a pound of ground beef a couple of months ago. Normally around 480-500g per package. Saw the price. Then saw the weight. It was 350g. That’s over 100g short of the usual weight.

    Recipes usually call for 1lb / 500g. For a family of four, that’s a whole fucking portion!!!

    No wonder people are getting scurvy in this country. We’re being gouged for increasingly less food!

    I’ve been boycotting Loblaws since the movement started, exempt for a few rare times that I had to shop at one. And I’m going to continue my boycott. This is ridiculous.

  • @Chip_Rat
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    817 hours ago

    I understand we aren’t accustomed to holding corporations responsible for theft but let me pretend:

    How about you take the info from the investigation, and apply it across the board. If a single inspector can find and prove that the meat they bought was overpriced by 8%, take Loblaws net profits from meat and fine them say half of that, 4%. They shouldn’t even complain as they never meant to overcharge, so this is just returning the money they stole.

    It’s insane because they seem to be admitting in the article that large quantities (“small” numbers of their stores mind you…) have been sold so they have stolen money in their coffers. Did they return that money? To whom? How?

    • @[email protected]
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      813 hours ago

      Hell with that. Take the 8% and double it, to serve as an example to the rest of the industry not to fuck around with things like this. If it doesn’t hurt enough, it will keep happening (anyone remember bread price fixing?)

  • sunzu2
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    3822 hours ago

    They paid a fine less than profit from the crime 🤡

    • Nik282000
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      22 hours ago

      That’s just a service fee. Come to think of it, that’s the government taking their cut and ensuring that the practice continues.

  • @[email protected]
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    2721 hours ago

    Loblaw Companies Ltd. spokesperson Catherine Thomas said in an email that due to an error involving a change in packaging, the grocer sold “a small number” of underweighted meat products in 80 stores across Western Canada.

    Tell me you have never worked a scale without telling me.

    One could change the packaging after every use of the scale and it wouldn’t impact a thing after the scale is reset with the new packaging.

    • @[email protected]
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      21 hours ago

      When I worked for a Loblaws company I did meat seafood and deli.

      Step 1 was always take the tray and tare it out on the scale so this wouldn’t happen.

      The fact this was widespread and they just say it was the new packaging does not stand up to me. You could sell the meat on lead bricks and the first step of taring would negate it.

    • @[email protected]
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      521 hours ago

      I think that’s what she’s claiming, that the scales weren’t re-zeroed to the new packaging.

      • @[email protected]
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        919 hours ago

        That is what she is trying to claim while not understanding how scales work. If this was an error with resetting the scale it would self correct the next day when the scale is turned on again and not have been left unresolved for an “undisclosed amount of time”.

  • Tarquinn2049
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    1018 hours ago

    Not to mention, the quality of the meat also dropped off since covid and still has not recovered. Though that might not be an everywhere problem. Our stores used to stock Alberta Beef, and now they sell us US stuff. Separately, the ground beef still has all the connective tissues in it, they used to remove them. Now we either have to do it ourselves or pick it out of our teeth after an uncomfortable meal.

      • Cyborganism
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        113 hours ago

        Yo, for real. And they’re so small, too. Like broccoli. I get twice at much at my local fruit/veg monger. (Fruiterie in English?)

    • @Chip_Rat
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      1017 hours ago

      Great, I can add the $6 gift card to my $10 bread gift card from the last time they were held accountable…

    • Cyborganism
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      313 hours ago

      Sounds like it’s time we start wearing T-shirts with Galen Weston’s head and a big crosshair on it. The more we are, the bigger the threat. And after what that Luigi guy did in New York, maybe they’ll taking this seriously.

    • @[email protected]
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      922 hours ago

      Loblaw is the one with the largest market share so the one who’s making the most by ripping people off.

      • @[email protected]
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        421 hours ago

        Sure, I’m not defending them, just making sure people are aware that they might be getting ripped off elsewhere too.