Dollar General is sued by the FTC and 20 states for what's being described as deceptive pricing
NEW YORK -- The Federal Trade Commission has sued the bargain chain Dollar General for what it characterized as “long-running deceptive pricing practices” by charging customers more once they reach the register than the prices that are displayed on shelves and in advertisements.
Twenty states joined in the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. It said that Dollar General failed to correct the issue despite what it said was “extensive corporate knowledge of the problem.”
“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,” wrote Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, did not immediately return a request for comment from The Associated Press.
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, according to the FTC.
"They are ripping people off. They are illegally overcharging families, and they have been here for years," North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson told ABC11. "Sometimes it's a dime. Sometimes it's a quarter. Sometimes it's more than a dollar. Sometimes people catch it. Usually they don't. Usually they just pay the extra money, and they go on about their lives."
Some shoppers also expressed dismay at the revelations.
"I think that's awful and in the meantime I'll be making other people aware of it," said Gwen Gillespie, a Dollar General shopper in North Carolina. "Now why in the world would they do that?"
Americans have become frustrated with higher prices and also with what they perceive to be new methods used by restaurant chains and major retailers in setting prices, including the use of artificial intelligence tools.
"I thought it was just inflation. Everything going up. That's actually crazy," said Latavia Watson, another shopper in North Carolina. "I mean, I don't know what to say."
- ABC11's DeJuan Hoggard contributed to this report.
