Dollar General faces lawsuit over checkout prices exceeding shelf tags

The Federal Trade Commission filed a federal lawsuit against Dollar General on Monday, charging the discount chain with deceptive pricing. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The agency alleged that customers frequently paid higher prices at the register than the amounts displayed on store shelves or in advertisements.

Twenty states joined the federal complaint. The list of participating states includes Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. The lawsuit describes the issue as a long-standing problem that the company failed to fix despite wide internal knowledge.

Dollar General is headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The FTC stated that the retailer betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers. The agency argued that the pricing practices caused financial harm to communities and individuals already struggling to make ends meet.

Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, addressed the impact of the alleged conduct. He said the chain imposed a significant financial burden on shoppers. Mufarrige noted that many consumers rely on precise budgeting to stretch their paychecks. The lawsuit seeks to address the gap between advertised costs and final checkout totals.

The filing arrives as American shoppers express frustration over rising costs. Consumers have also raised concerns about new pricing methods used by restaurant chains and major retailers. Some of these methods involve the use of artificial intelligence tools. The FTC’s action targets the specific discrepancy between shelf labels and register totals at Dollar General locations.