Ohio Takes Dollar General to Court Again Over Prices That Don’t Match the Shelf

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio is heading back to court with Dollar General. Attorney General Andy Wilson and 19 other state attorneys general have joined the Federal Trade Commission in a lawsuit against the discount retailer. The suit alleges the company knowingly continued overcharging customers and willfully failed to fix its deceptive pricing. “The prices on store shelves are what customers should be paying,” Wilson said. “Dollar General has allowed the overcharges to continue at the expense of the very people who keep its lights on.” A Second Lawsuit From Ohio This marks the second time in recent years that the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has sued the retailer. The state first filed suit in November 2022. That case followed numerous consumer complaints about shelf prices that did not match what shoppers paid at the register. About a year later, the office reached a $1 million settlement with Dollar General. The agreement included specific steps the company was required to take to address the pricing discrepancies. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the overcharges have continued in Ohio and other states. That led Ohio to join the federal case. What the Lawsuit Claims The FTC lawsuit alleges that Dollar General has mislabeled prices for years. It also claims the company overcharged consumers and failed to correct the problems. Company executives had extensive knowledge of the issues, according to the complaint. The lawsuit makes two key allegations against the retailer: The company has collected millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges from customers at thousands of its stores by failing to correct pricing problems. Consumers nationwide have filed tens of thousands of complaints saying the company did not honor its advertised prices. The states say this shows widespread harm and proves the retailer knew about the problem. The FTC and the states allege these practices violate the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. States Joining the Case Ohio and the FTC are joined in the lawsuit by Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. The full complaint is available on the FTC website.