Those sweet buy-one, get-one-free sales at Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores may not be the deals you thought they were, according to a new suit by Washington state's attorney general.

From 2019 to 2024, Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, owner of Safeway and Haggen, routinely raised prices on products leading up to “buy one, get one free” promotions, creating an illusion of savings while overcharging consumers, according to the suit, filed Monday in King County Superior Court.

Consumers walk into these stores, think that they're getting a bargain," state Attorney General Nick Brown said at a news conference Monday. "They're being told that they're getting a deal, but in reality, they're just paying an inflated price for that first item."

Albertsons, which operates more than 200 Albertsons, Safeway and Haggen stores in Washington, overcharged state residents in more than 3 million transactions from October 2019 to May 2024, the suit alleged.

Albertsons made nearly $20 million “by attracting consumers into their stores with these deceptive deals,” Brown said.

The suit seeks to bar Albertsons from using “unfair and deceptive” buy-one, get-one, or “BOGO,” promotions and would require the company to pay restitution to Washington consumers, along with civil and other penalties.

Albertsons disputed the claims.

"We engaged in good‑faith discussions with the Attorney General’s Office and strongly disagree with its claims, which are based on flawed analysis and data errors that we identified and raised," the company said in a statement Monday.

"As this is pending litigation, we will address the matter through the legal process and cannot comment further," the company said.

Deceptive promotions

In Monday's suit, the Washington Attorney General's Office alleges that from October 2019 through May 2024, Albertsons routinely engaged in deceptive BOGO promotions, during which "they artificially increase the price of the BOGO item in the run-up to the promotion, only to bring the price back down to the pre-BOGO level after the promotion is over."

The suit offered several examples from stores around Washington.

In 2020, an Albertsons store in Gig Harbor raised the price on olive oil from $6.99 to $10.99, or nearly 60%, just before a BOGO promotion, according to the suit. Soon after the promotion was over, the store reduced the price to $6.99.

At a Safeway in Colville, Stevens County, the store raised the price of mini watermelons from $3.99 to $5.99 just prior to the BOGO promotion in 2021, then returned the price to $3.99 after the promotion, the suit alleged.

At the Renton Albertsons, the price for Signature Select Olives Stuffed with Pimiento jumped from $2.99 to $5.49 shortly before a BOGO promotion in 2021, and was then reduced to $2.99, according to the suit.

All told, Albertsons stores overcharged shoppers in Washington in "at least 3,190,584 transactions, bringing in as much as $19,671,244 from Washington consumers on these transactions," the suit claimed.

Brown was quick to note that BOGO promotions aren't illegal "if it, in fact, is a deal [and] is an accurate reflection of the bargain that people are getting."

But, he added, "in this case, these stores would very deliberately, in the days and weeks leading up to a promotion...slowly increase the price on these products."

As a result, Brown said, "people really do get excited and think they're getting a deal, but they're being lied to."

Legal challenges

Albertsons has faced other legal struggles in Washington. The state was the first to sue to stop a proposed merger between Albertsons and rival Kroger, which was ultimately blocked in both state and federal court.

And, as Brown noted Monday, Washington's suit follows a number of other cases against Albertsons over its BOGO practices.

In a 2023 lawsuit, Silverdale, Kitsap County, resident Kim Siflinger alleged that Safeway and Albertsons “routinely” increased regular retail prices in advance of BOGO promotions, according to court filings.

That suit was moved to federal court, where the parties agreed to a dismissal in June 2024.

In 2023, Albertsons also agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in Oregon over similar allegations that it used deceptive practices in its BOGO deals on meat.

Similarly, another 2023 lawsuit filed in federal court in California accused Albertsons of deceiving nearly a million consumers using deceptive BOGO promotions, according to media reports.

In that suit, a plaintiff claimed to have paid $7.49 for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream under a BOGO promotion at Safeway. But a day before the BOGO promotion started, the product cost just $4, and the price dropped back to that level immediately after the promotion was over, according to the lawsuit.

Brown said Monday the state's new suit followed cases in other states and was also spurred by consumer complaints. He said it would be up to the court to determine whether Albertsons would be forced to change its BOGO practices, and advised consumers to be vigilant in the meantime.

"It's really important to look at the details, to pay attention to increases on prices," Brown said. "If you're a regular shopper at a location, and you're ... thinking you're getting a deal, I think it's best to ask twice and to be careful.

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