It happened not too long ago with Walmart overcharging customers for certain products, and now it has happened at three other major grocery outlets.

Safeway, Albertsons and Vons grocers have agreed to a $4 million civil settlement for alleged false advertisement and unfair competition.

Let’s break down what happened here.

Customers in some locations noticed that the advertised prices on certain foods rang up higher than what was advertised.

In addition to these scanner issues, whether intentional or not, there were more complaints that started to roll in.

After multiple complaints and investigations, it was found that some of these stores had inaccurate weights on some of the food that they sell. Breads, meats and other items that were weighed locally, in store, were under-stuffed with product.

Basically, if you were trying to buy a pound of ground beef, and the label said it was 1.4 pounds of beef, it might have really been only one pound, and you were left paying for meat that is not included in the packaging.

While these stores didn’t admit guilt, they decided it was a better move to pay the settlement to shoppers who claim to have been affected,

After enough people complained to the California’s Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, they decided to take on the case and get the settlement for those who were overcharged.

To fix the mess that they have allegedly made, the grocery chains must implement a price accuracy program to prevent future overcharging.

The program offers compensation of up to five dollars to customers who report discrepancies between the advertised price and the price charged at checkout.

Make sure you’re on the lookout at the register to see if the rung-up price matches the advertised price; if not, say hello to a crisp Abraham Lincoln in your wallet.