Nevada Focus: Scanner laws may get teeth

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 3:58 a.m.

The state Department of Weights and Measures, which regulates price and label accuracy, is working on procedures that will enable it to levy fines. Until then, it will ask businesses about which it gets a complaint to fix the problem.

"If I went back to your business three times and you are still shorting (customers), I don't have a lot of bite to get you," said department director Ed Hoganson.

Area retailers question the need for fines because they say they have instituted strict internal controls to prevent inaccurate scans.

"I think any time we get more government regulation, it's not the best thing," said Mike Ray, manager of the Wal-Mart in Carson City. "But it won't be bad for us. It will just put our people on their toes even more."

Although Hoganson said he does not believe inaccurate scanning is a problem in Nevada, he lacks data to prove it.

A random sting conducted by the state attorney general's office last year revealed no major problems, said Deputy Attorney General Joyce Barcus, who coordinated the operation. The sting was on Father's Day, when prices typically are changed because of sales.

But it was flawed. Investigators picked three stores each in the Carson City, Reno, Elko and Las Vegas areas. "Our shoppers went in with ads and picked the wrong items," Barcus said.

Nevertheless, Barcus said she was satisfied with the limited survey. The items investigators chose were similar to those listed for sale and were scanned correctly, Barcus said.

Retail scanner errors in California last year cost customers $250 million, according to the California Public Interest Research Group. One in 25 transactions resulted in more money for retailers.

Investigators from the state Department of Weights and Measures, meanwhile, are gathering data through random audits.

The state Legislature last year granted the department authority to levy fines for inaccurate scans, Hoganson said. But no business will be fined until a fee schedule is created and approved by the Division of Agriculture. The lack of a fee schedule could leave the agency vulnerable to legal challenges if it decided to levy fine, Hoganson said.

Area businesses usually cooperated when his agents responded to complaints, Hoganson said.

"We have had great cooperation when we asked people to do things," he said. "They are surprised by the way we treat them. Many people in business here come from California where they are fine silly."