Airlines typically charge passengers extra fees when their luggage is overweight.
The weight of the luggage is determined by the scales the airlines use. Hence, the importance of these scales being accurate.
With the holiday season in full swing, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“the Division”) today announced educational and enforcement initiatives that will help protect consumers from being overcharged.
To prevent holiday travelers from being unfairly weighed down by baggage overage fees at New Jersey’s two busiest airports - Newark Liberty International Airport (“EWR”) in Newark and Atlantic City International Airport (“ACY”) in Atlantic City - the Division’s Office of Weights and Measures (“OWM”) conducted inspections of all baggage scales in operation at the airports to ensure the devices were properly calibrated and accurately weighing luggage.
Inaccuracies were found in 100 of the 366 scales inspected at EWR; 81 of them significant enough for inspectors to condemn the scales and take them out of service, a failure rate of 22%. Since then, 94 of the scales have been serviced, re-inspected, and are now in compliance. Six scales remain out of service while awaiting repair parts.
At ACY, two of 16 inspected scales were removed from service for inaccuracies, a 12.5% failure rate. Both scales have since been serviced, re-inspected, and are now in compliance.
The EWR inspections were conducted from October 16 through 27, 2023. The ACY inspections were conducted on November 29, 2023. OWM is in the process of assessing fines in connection with the inspections. Failure to Maintain a Device in Proper Operating Condition, the violation cited in cases of scale inaccuracies, carries a fine of not less than $100 per violation.
Inspections of baggage scales at both Newark Liberty International Airport and Atlantic City International Airport were conducted by OWM inspectors, under the supervision of Inspector Bryan Thomson. Personnel from the Office of Weights and Measures in Elizabeth assisted in the testing of scales in EWR’s Terminal A. Personnel from the Office of Weights and Measures in Atlantic City assisted in the testing of scales at ACY.
Deputy Attorneys General Monisha A. Kumar, Zeyad A. Assaf, and Christopher Meyer of the Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section, under the supervision of the Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section Chief Jesse Sierant within the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group, assisted the Division of Consumer Affairs in these matters. Assistant County Counsel Alberico De Pierro assisted the Hudson County Office of Consumer Protection in these matters.
“New Jersey is committed to safeguarding consumers from financial exploitation and curtailing unfair commercial practices,” said Attorney General Platkin.
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5 comments:
Gotta pay for all those pay raises somehow!!!!!
What about all the people who may have been defrauded for having to pay a fee for extra weight?
I doubt a $100 fine makes up for all of that.
That's nothing compared to all the welfare/medicaid fraud that goes on around here unpunished.
@ChopSuey welfare and medicaid fraud has nothing to do with an airlines profiting from a lack or or compliance to accurate weights and measures.
Please stop pushing your political agenda in a consumer awareness post. Happy Holidays
Of course the airlines don't have a carefully crafted statement defending this rogue practice
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