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RALEIGH (AP) - Office Depot overcharged North Carolina's state government nearly $300,000 for supplies over a six-month period, according to an audit released Wednesday by the state auditor.

Between July and December 2007, Office Depot inflated the price of some products sold to the state, the audit said. North Carolina's supply contract specified that the state was not to buy products sold for more than the normal retail price.

Florida-based Office Depot also changed the brands of merchandise ordered, causing North Carolina to pay extra for products, the auditor's report said.

Office Depot spokesman Jason Shockley said the company is reviewing the audit but declined to comment on the findings.

The audit also noted that state agencies could have saved money by buying some products through state vendors other than Office Depot.

The more than $294,000 the state was overcharged during the six-month period has since been recouped, state officials said.

State Auditor Les Merritt's report criticized the state Division of Purchase and Contract for failing to properly monitor its expenses, noting that four other states have claimed overcharging problems with the office supply company.

"The difference in North Carolina is that P&C had advance warning and every reason to increase their monitoring efforts and become more skeptical of Office Depot's explanations concerning price discrepancies," Merritt said in a statement.

The critical report comes two years after an administrative law judge tossed out the state's first supply contract with Office Depot because the consulting company guiding the state's selection had done millions in business with the company. The contract was re-let for bidding and Office Depot won it again, although at a lower price.

Last year, the auditor criticized the division for inadequately monitoring its office supply vendors, including Office Depot. The auditor's May 2007 report said officials who oversee purchases were not taking permanent corrective action when they found pricing errors.

In a letter released with Wednesday's critical report, state purchasing officer James Staton said the division is working to finish implementing all of the auditor's recommendations to prevent such overcharging in the future. Staton also said the division is looking into taking bids for a new contract and ending the current one.

But Staton also said problems with an online "punch-out" catalog used to order items for the state was at the root of some of the auditor's findings and said the division already was aware of some of the pricing problems.

"The Auditor's Office lack of a complete understanding of the office supplies contract and its workings has led to several statements that are misleading," Staton wrote.

Staton also said that Office Depot is not trying to recoup $500,000 in products it undercharged for earlier.