BJ’s Wholesale Club fined $40,000 

Posted: 12:18 pm Thu, April 1, 2010
By Daily Record Staff

BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. has agreed to pay a $40,000 penalty to settle allegations that it violated Maryland’s consumer protection law, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said Thursday.

The state alleged the Massachusetts-based retail chain, which has nine wholesale clubs in Maryland, deceived consumers who received “Buy One Get One Free” coupons by limiting a coupon’s value in some instances to an amount less than an item’s price.

Consumers were charged the difference between the coupon’s upper limit and the actual price of the goods.

More than 2,000 consumers in Maryland paid for items that should have been free, according to Gansler. BJ’s denied any legal violation but has agreed to reimburse eligible consumers.