COEUR d’ALENE — An Albertsons shopper said he was overcharged for two turkey breasts last week, and the way it happened has him wondering if someone had a thumb on the scale.

“I had a very troubling purchase at Albertsons tonight, which I can't help but think is fraud,” James McKenzie said in an email message to The Press last week. “And I'm concerned that you will find other readers who are vulnerable, thinking that using a coupon from the Albertsons flier (found in your Sunday paper, in my case) really won't save any money.”

McKenzie bought two turkey breasts using a coupon for $1.79 per pound. The breasts are normally $3.49 per pound, so it seemed like a good deal, McKenzie said.

“Luckily when I got home, I checked the receipt and caught the 'error,'” he said. “My two birds were 6.62 pounds and 7.77 pounds, which at regular price comes out to $23.10 and $27.12, respectively.”

The way it turned out — even with the coupon — McKenzie was still charged $23.10 and $27.12.

“That seemed odd,” he said. “So I checked to make sure the discount was applied.”

What he found on the receipt was appalling, McKenzie said.

On the receipt he saw that the price per pound was adjusted to $1.79 as it should be, but the weights were changed to 12.91 pounds and 15.15 pounds, so the price was adjusted back to the original dollar amount without the coupon.

“Perhaps I'm just too cynical, but I have a hard time believing this is just some mistake,” he said. “If the coupon didn't apply the discount, maybe. But the weights were changed. It seems like a scam to me. It also seems like a modern version of the 'thumb on the scale' trick.”

McKenzie said he took them back for a refund.

Sara Osborne, a spokesperson for Albertsons, said there was a mix-up in the coupon.

“Based on his receipt, it looks like he did not present the required coupon,” Osborne said. “While it is unusual that the price coding kept the sale price but increased the weight to equal the regular price, it does not appear that Mr. McKenzie was overcharged since he did not provide the checker with the coupon.”

Osborne said staff researched the coding and discovered the offer was coded incorrectly, in that both the regular price and sale price were being recognized as $1.79 per pound — and the only way to correct the error was to recode the weight calculation to amount to the same price as if the regular price was $3.49 per pound.

“If you have further questions about this, please don’t hesitate to call me,” Osborne said. “At Albertsons, pricing integrity is our top priority, and we thank Mr. McKenzie for bringing this to our attention.”