ULTA: Illegal pricing practice

[SoCalGirl]

Sorry this is so long!

So today I went to the ULTA in La Jolla and picked out some cheap Prestige eyeshadow that was marked as being on sale for $2.39. When I went to check out it rang up at $3.99. I told the girl that it was marked as on sale but she said it's on sale for $3.99. I told her I'd double check the price, which she should have offered to do. I went back and made sure I was right about the price. I got back in line and ended up with a different cashier. I explained to her about the price issue and she went to check the price. She came back with the sale price sticker and said that the sale ended yesterday on the 11th. There was a date range on the sticker but it did not sale "expires on" or "only through", etc. I explained that under state law they have to sell it for the price that is displayed. She went to get the manager. The manager, who was for some reason not even wearing a name tag or identified herself, immediately told me that they could not give me the lower price. I explained to the manager about the state law and told her to just ring it up at the $2.39 price but she kept refusing. She claimed I was making a scene and asked me to step aside. I hadn't even raised my voice so that surprised me. She said I could return in the morning and talk to the General Manager. I told her that I would not be returning in the moring as I work. I asked that she call the General Manager. She claimed that the manager is flying back from Chicago tonight. Convienient right? I asked her to write a statement confirming that she would not sell the item at the marked price. And to provide her name. She refused to put in writing what she was saying to me and would only give me her first name of Jamie. I told her I don't know how many Jamie's there are in the store and I want to be specific when I called the customer service number. She said she was the only Jamie in the store and is the Prestige Manager. She said the people at the customer service line know her. I thought that was odd. Why would they know her unless there are a lot of issues with her? The woman behind me in line even agreed that I was right about the state law.

I'm so irritated that this woman blatently disregards state law. The fact that she was so calm and stuck to her guns so firmly makes me think this is a common occurance. I'll be calling the customer service line first thing in the morning (6 AM) since it's on the central time zone. What she did is a misdemeanor with up to a $1000 fine and a year in jail! They have to sell at the price posted regardless of any expiration dates listed. She should be fired or at the very least demoted to stock girl or something.

Has anyone else had a similar problem with ULTA?