The supermarket chain Delhaize is to be issued with a financial sanction after an investigation by the Economic Inspectorate found that it had charged unsuspecting customers for products that they had not bought. The Economic Inspectorate launched an investigation following a report by VRT Radio 2’s consumer affairs programme WinWin in which several of the supermarket’s customers complained that they had been charged for “phantom products”.
Supermarket chain Delhaize issued with financial sanction for charging customers for products they hadn’t bought
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The investigation found that for several months Delhaize had been charging customers for items that they had not bought. The cause of the overcharging was a fault in the software used for the supermarket chain’s tills.
Following, the WinWin broadcast in April 2025, the Federal Consumer Protection Minister Rob Beenders (Flemish socialist) asked the Economic Inspectorate to carry out a thorough investigation. The investigation has been completed and Delhaize will be issued with a financial sanction. Whether this will be in the form of a fine or an amicable settlement is not yet clear. The Economic Inspectorate is also remaining tight-lipped about how much Delhaize will have to pay.
In a reaction the Federal Consumer Protection Minister told VRT News that " With this sanction, we and the Economic Inspectorate wish to send a clear message that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Consumers must be protected. The investigation has shown that Delhaize was indeed at fault. The most important thing is that Delhaize has modified the software so that the problem has since been resolved."
Problem solved
Delhaize already apologised and promised in April this year to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. The issue was resolved in May. The supermarket chain had been aware of the issue for at least several months prior to the ‘WinWin’ broadcast.
The cause of the IT issue was a software update that was intended to prepare the supermarket’s cash register system the disappearance of barcodes in 2027. The fault led to cash registers scanning not only the barcode on a dozen branded products, but the data matrix, a small square that looks similar to a QR code. The system automatically linked a random product to that matrix, causing customers to pay for something they had never purchased.
Delhaize told ‘WinWin’ that it accepts the financial sanction and that it the trust of its customers is something that it values greatly. The chain has cooperated in full with the Economic Inspectorate’s investigation.