Dollar General has built its reputation on low prices, billing itself as the friend of the lower-income consumer and has grown into a massive retailer with more than 21,000 stores nationwide. But the Federal Trade Commission and 20 states say the claim is false.
They’re accusing Dollar General of systematically chiseling customers, charging them more at the cash register than the prices displayed on shelves, price tags and advertisements, costing consumers millions of dollars.
“Dollar General has betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers and imposed significant financial harm on communities and consumers who are already struggling to make their paychecks last,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC’s action underscores the agency’s commitment to lowering costs for consumers by stopping deceptive pricing practices that harm Americans.”
According to the complaint:
Thousands of Dollar General stores have taken advantage of vulnerable shoppers by extracting millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges with insufficient safeguards to prevent the practice.
Dollar General received tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across the country who say the company did not honor the advertised price, demonstrating widespread consumer harm and confirming that customers nationwide have been charged more than the advertised price.
Dollar General knows that it harms consumers by charging more at the register than the prices it advertises, as reflected by the numerous complaints it has received.
Despite being made aware of the problem, Dollar General has failed to implement policies and practices to adequately address the problem, the FTC said.
Twenty states joined the FTC in filing the complaint, alleging that Dollar General has, for years, repeatedly mislabeled prices, overcharged consumers and failed to correct the issue despite extensive corporate knowledge of the problem. The states joining the FTC lawsuit include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.