This post has been updated with a statement from Fred Meyer.

Four Oregon customers sued Fred Meyer's parent company Kroger in a class action suit, claiming the grocery store chain has charged thousands of people 10-cent bottle deposits on containers that aren't eligible for refunds.

Thousands who've paid the extra deposit charge on exempt containers since January 1 could be eligible for up to $200 in damages, according to the complaint filed Aug. 13 in federal court.

"Fred Meyer understands that Oregon law does not permit it to collect bottle deposit charges on exempt beverages but continues to overcharge its customers anyway," the lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Michael Fuller, said his private investigator found the company has been adding the surcharge to ineligible containers in stores up and down the Willamette Valley.

"Their tills must be flush with cash with the extra money that they're bringing in," Fuller said in an interview.

Read the complaint against Kroger here.

Fred Meyer spokesman Jeffery Temple said the company doesn't comment on ongoing lawsuits. In a written statement, Temple said the company takes immediate steps to correct any errors they find.

"Fred Meyer has always been committed to our customers' shopping experience. If we ever discover we have made an error we take immediate corrective action. We will continue to be the trusted community partner that Oregon residents have come to rely upon for the past 96 years."

Under Oregon's bottle bill, stores can charge customers an extra 10 cents for glass, metal or plastic bottles and cans that can be returned for a refund. Per the lawsuit, Fred Meyer has been adding that charge to some beverages in paper cartons, which can't be returned.

On Jan. 1 Oregon expanded the list of drinks that can be returned, to include tea drinks, juice, energy drinks, coffee, kombucha, and others. The expanded list did not include paper cartons.

This is Fuller's second suit this year claiming improper charges for drinks in paper cartons. In the first suit, a Salem woman claimed Walgreens charged extra for juice boxes. The case is ongoing.

Read the Walgreens complaint here.

Fuller said he's looked for inappropriate surcharges in grocery stores across Portland but found them to be rare, overall.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin