FTC and 20 states sue Dollar General over alleged checkout overcharges
publishers 62articles 66first reported 26 Oct, 18:30 UTCdeveloping since 27 Oct · 6 editions
The Federal Trade Commission and 20 states have sued Dollar General, alleging the discount retailer repeatedly charged customers more at checkout than prices displayed on shelves, tags and advertisements.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, describes the alleged discrepancies as “long-running deceptive pricing practices” that affected millions of purchases. Regulators say Dollar General failed to correct the problem despite extensive corporate knowledge and policies intended to keep shelf and register prices aligned.
According to the lawsuit, the company received nearly 30,000 consumer complaints about pricing discrepancies between 2019 and March 2026. The complaint also says Dollar General entered seven settlements in six states over inaccurate pricing between 2019 and 2026, paying about $6 million in penalties.
The participating states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
Dollar General disputed the allegations, saying it had not abandoned its mission or disregarded customers’ affordability needs. The company said its goal is complete accuracy between shelf and register prices, acknowledged that occasional discrepancies can occur and said employees are expected to resolve them for customers. It also said it cooperated with the FTC investigation, called the agency’s settlement demand disproportionate to realistic estimates of overcharges and vowed to defend the lawsuit vigorously.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 48 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 3 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 48 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
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- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
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