Walgreens and drug receipts

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 13, 2000

I have a question about why Walgreens cannot automatically give the customer the retail price of prescription drugs. Only our co-payment amount shows on the receipt. When we were in New Jersey, the print-out receipt always indicated what the retail price was.

I contacted our prescription drug plan, and it said it had no objections to a pharmacy indicating the retail price of a prescription drug on the receipt. I asked our local Walgreens but could not get an answer. At present, the only way to find out the actual price is to ask for it. This means I cannot use the automated system to get refills. I have to wait for a clerk to pick up the phone. This is a waste of time for both me and the pharmacy. It makes no sense.

I wrote to Walgreens' corporate office, but its letter did not answer my question of why the retail price was automatically printed on the receipts for prescriptions filled in New Jersey. T. Orandash

Response: Beth Koenig, consumer relations specialist for Walgreens in Deerfield, Ill., said the law in some states requires that the retail price be printed on the receipt. Florida is not one of them, so that feature is turned off in the computer system and the cash retail price does not print out. She said you can always get this information by asking a member of the pharmacy staff.

New Jersey also does not legally require receipts to contain the retail price, and they no longer do, Koenig said. The information should not have been on those receipts to begin with, she said.

Koenig apologized for the miscommunication and said she is sending you a $20 gift certificate as thanks for bringing this problem to Walgreens' attention.

As an aside, for consumers whose insurance plans reimburse patients only up to a certain amount for medications each year, if at all, it can be important to keep track of the retail price of one's prescription drugs. Since prices can vary, shopping around can be smart, as well.

An expensive stop

First of all, I had no intention of buying a car. I had just put $1,200 into my Cadillac. I was on my way to a movie and had time to kill, so I stopped in at a car dealership that was having a sale. I saw a Park Avenue and asked one simple question about the price. The next thing I knew, a salesman took me to the manager.

I was on Percocet and morphine for pain. Plus, it was 90 degrees in the tent. I'm also a diabetic, and the salespeople kept giving me Gatorade to drink, which raised my sugar levels. I was so high it was like I wasn't there. Two salesmen pressured me for two hours, and the next thing I knew, they said my car was ready. I said, "What car?" They said I had signed a contract. After I left, I discovered that I was taken for about $9,000, since I was charged $19,000 for a 1994 model car. R.K.

Response: Wow, that was an expensive way to kill time! If we could turn back the clock, we'd start out by suggesting that you stay home.

Unfortunately, we are not able to help you. You may have been pressured to purchase the car, but as far as we can tell, no one held a gun to your head and forced you to sign the contract. You were on medication not known for promoting clarity of thought. In fact, we were alarmed that you were driving at all while taking Percocet and morphine, even though they were prescribed for you. Most painkillers we know of, and especially narcotics, come with the warning to not operate machinery while taking them. That would include cars.

Shopping appears to have become a national hobby, and we cannot recommend strongly enough that anyone with the slightest propensity to cave in under sales pressure take someone along with a clearer, and in this case unmedicated, head and stronger resistance when browsing in high ticket establishments. The tactics of the salesmen may or may not have been ethical, but that does not make them illegal. Also, if your mental state was as foggy as you claim, the facts as you recall them may be in dispute.

We checked with the folks at Pinellas County Consumer Protection and with Pinellas County TRIAD, a cooperative effort among law enforcement agencies, social services and senior citizens that focuses on financial crimes against the elderly. Both said the situation in which you found yourself is not uncommon, but there is often nothing they can do. Since this happened a year ago and you say that no one would help you, we suspect it's that no one could help you.

However, if you have not already done so, call the Florida Abuse Hotline at (800) 962-2873. We were told that you may have a case if you were older than 75 at the time and that even if you weren't, you may still qualify if there was some impairment or disability. When you call, you will be guided through a series of prompts: Press 1 (for English), then 1 again, followed by a third 1, then a fourth 1 to speak to a counselor. If you have an attorney who helps you with your affairs, we also suggest seeking his or her advice. Good luck.

Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check.

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