Have you ever thought you were getting a deal but ended up surprisingly paying more at the register? Well, if you’re a Dollar General shopper, the Federal Trade Commission believes you may have been a victim of deceptive pricing practices.
Along with 20 other states, the FTC filed a complaint against the chain of discount stores Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Dollar General is headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tenn., and operates more than 21,000 stores nationwide and markets itself as a more affordable alternative to big box retailers.
Plaintiffs allege that Dollar General has engaged “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,” and violating the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and state laws. The FTC explained that fixed-income customers rely on the accuracy of the chain’s pricing.
“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.”
States that joined the lawsuit with the FTC include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
“Overcharging for products at a time when many basic necessities have become less affordable harms vulnerable families and consumers,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “I will continue to work with my fellow attorneys general and our federal partners to hold businesses that break the law accountable.”
According to CBS News, Dollar General said in a statement that it “worked tirelessly and in good faith to resolve this matter without litigation,” and that the FTC demanded a “monetary amount that was untethered to – and orders of magnitude larger than – any realistic assessment of amounts attributable to pricing discrepancies.”
“Although we respect the FTC’s role in protecting American consumers and the State representatives’ role in protecting the citizens of their respective states, we will defend this litigation vigorously,” the statement said.
This September, Audacy reported on Dollar General’s plans to court wealthier customers. Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos discussed the company’s shifting consumer base the Goldman Sachs Global Consumer and Retail conference.
“The interesting thing with this economy, because of the other sustained headwinds of inflation over the years that have passed, [is that] even that middle to upper middle is acting more like a lower-income shopper these days,” Vasos said.
