Delhaize (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Delhaize faces a government investigation for overcharging customers with “ghost products.” Minister Rob Beenders (Vooruit) warns of serious action. Talks set for May 2025; customers urged to check receipts.
The government is taking action against Delhaize, Brussels, Belgium because they have been charging customers for things they didn’t buy. This is called “ghost products.” A radio show called WinWin found that Delhaize’s cash registers have a problem with their software.
According to the customers, this problem has been happening for a long time, and many customers have been overcharged. Delhaize didn’t fix the problem even though people complained. Customers are angry that Delhaize didn’t take care of them.
Did Delhaize ignore Ghost Product complaints for years?
The government is upset about Delhaize’s problems. Consumer Protection Minister Rob Beenders is going to talk to Delhaize’s leaders in May 2025. He thinks that Delhaize is not treating customers fairly because they haven’t fixed the cash register problem. He might punish Delhaize if they don’t fix it soon.
He also wants to make sure this doesn’t happen to other stores. He mentioned that customers should check their receipts and tell the government if they see anything wrong. They can get their money back if they were overcharged. Groups that help customers might also try to get more money back for everyone.
The government wants to know how many customers were affected and for how long. They also want to know if Delhaize knew about the problem and didn’t do anything. The minister said it’s not okay for Delhaize to charge people for things they didn’t buy.
He mentioned that people need to trust that their receipts are correct, especially because prices are going up. He also said that Delhaize has admitted to the problem, but that employees have said the problem has been around for a long time.
“If Delhaize has indeed been aware of the problem for some time, I will not hesitate to take strong action.”
Rob Beenders (Vooruit), Minister of Consumer Protection
The minister is warning Delhaize that they could face serious consequences if the investigation shows they knew about the “ghost product” problem and didn’t do anything about it. The minister said that if Delhaize is found to have been hiding the problem, they could be fined or have to make changes to their business.
