The Kmart Corporation has paid $14,610 in fines to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs for having expired food for sale and for scanner price violations.
The amount is the sum from four different investigations at stores in the Virgin Islands, and it is not the first time the company has been fined. In 1999, Kmart was hit with $57,000 in fines for similar violations.
Director of Consumer Protection Alli Paul said Wednesday that he had written Kmart in regard to the earlier fines and suggested they institute a quality assurance program, but the company had not done so. The lower total this time around does not convince him Kmart is doing better.
"We still get the same level of complaints and citations," he said. "Kmart has a lot of part-time employees and a lot of turnover," and inexperienced staff are more likely to make mistakes.
Licensing officials found that 55 items on the stores' shelves were outdated, and 811 items were scanned at a higher price than indicated on the item.
Tutu Park Kmart Store Manager George Newman was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Consumers can call DLCA if they see outdated items on shelves at any stores or have price disputes that cannot be resolved with a store manager. Call 773-2226 on St. Croix; 774-3130 on St. Thomas; and 693-8036 on St. John.
