FTC and State Partners Sue Dollar General for Charging Consumers More than Advertised for Many Products

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by 20 states, sued Dollar General Corporation for engaging in long-running deceptive pricing practices by routinely charging customers more at the register than the prices displayed on shelves, price tags and advertisements, costing consumers millions of dollars.

Twenty states joined the FTC in filing a 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.

"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."

Dollar General operates more than 21,000 stores nationwide and markets itself as a low-priced alternative to large discount and big-box retailers. The company sells thousands of household items at low prices, which are critical to its low- and fixed-income customers who rely on the accuracy of Dollar General's pricing.

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 and states allege these practices violate the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and state laws.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 2-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has "reason to believe" that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.