Carrefour and Walmart Take More Than You Bargained For

Price gouging seems to go hand in hand with Beijing business, and while expats complain of the Chinese markets and stores that resort to these practices, it seems that foreign companies are not above the sneaky habit either.

French Carrefour and American Walmart have both been called out by “the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)” for engaging in price fraud, and now face up to RMB 500,000 in fines.

Some of the elements of the price fraud have included, “Fabricating the purported original prices, luring customers with low prices on product labels but overcharging when shoppers checked out, exaggerating discounts on their advertisements and double-price labeling that confused consumers about the actual cost of the products.”

Both companies have offered the standard lip service and pledge to crack down on pricing problems, but customers should keep checking those receipts.