Dollar General Overcharging Lawsuit 2024: Deceptive Pricing?

A lawsuit has been filed accusing Dollar General of regularly charging customers more than the advertised shelf price, and attorneys working with ClassAction.org need more people to come forward to help strengthen the litigation.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims there are often discrepancies between the price listed on store shelves or in-store signs and the amount customers are charged at the register. For instance, one of the plaintiffs claims he bought lactose-free milk that had an advertised price of $4.15, yet Dollar General allegedly charged him $4.25 for the product.

Dollar General has also been sued by several state attorneys general over the apparent overcharging practice, but some customers claim the price discrepancies are still a widespread problem at the retailer’s stores.

Lawsuits Claim Dollar General Overcharges Customers

Dollar General has been hit with lawsuits in several states over allegations that it frequently overcharges customers.

In November 2023, Dollar General reached an $850,000 settlement with Wisconsin regulators after an investigation found that Dollar General stores overcharged customers for 9% of the products evaluated. That same month, the retailer agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve allegations of overcharging customers in New Jersey. While inspecting 58 stores over a period of several months, the state’s Office of Weights and Measures reportedly found more than 2,000 instances where the price charged for an item at the register was higher than the advertised shelf price.

Those two settlements came about a month after Dollar General settled a lawsuit filed by the Ohio attorney general that accused the discount store chain of using bait-and-switch tactics to deceive customers about its pricing. As part of the $1 million settlement, Dollar General agreed to implement measures to ensure its prices are accurate, including training employees on pricing practices and sufficiently staffing its stores.

Yet another lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general in September 2023 claimed Dollar General violated the state’s consumer protection laws by charging customers a higher price at checkout than advertised on store shelves. According to the case, a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Missouri Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures Division found that price discrepancies at Dollar General stores in the state reached up to $6.50 per item, with an average overcharge of $2.71.

Finally, in 2019, Dollar General settled a lawsuit filed by the Vermont attorney general that claimed the retailer consistently advertised its products at lower prices than the amount customers were charged, even after being warned at least 50 times by state inspectors to correct the inaccuracies.

Customers Complain on Reddit About Overcharging

Dollar General customers have complained on Reddit and other online forums about being charged more at the register than the advertised shelf price. Some customers said the prices sometimes differed by several dollars, and others said that when they brought up the discrepancies to store employees, they were denied the lower price.

Dollar General employees said the overcharging problem stems from the company understaffing stores and changing prices often, which leaves workers unable to keep up with updating shelf tags.

Below is a sample of complaints posted on Reddit from Dollar General customers [sic throughout]:

This was happening for months. I always would check and had to be refunded numerous times in Canton. It was usually in the dollars I was being overcharged, not just cents. Like 2 or 3 bucks on an 11 or 12 dollar total. Ridiculous.”
— EarnSneakySneaky, Reddit.com

I had it happen near me. I had an item that was 3/10 and I begrudgingly paid 10 dollars instead of the 4.75 for one. I get to the counter and it rang up at full price. Had to walk the clerk back to the shelf to show them. Came in two weeks later and the same thing happened.”
— ToxicAdamm, Reddit.com

Every time i shop at my local dollar general something, usually several things, are more expensive than the displayed price. I feel like a nuisance to bother the employees everytime I check out but it is ridiculous. Also they make me feel like a nuisance. A DG in a town near mine was sued by the local attorney General for incorrect display prices. It sucks because they have nearly a monopoly around here and are the only option in most small towns.”
— Gsf72, Reddit.com

Just went to dollar general and everything rang up as more than it was marked as costing. Like 25% more. I know this isn’t legal.”
— Adventureadverts, Reddit.com

Happened to me multiple times. Once I got a bottle of wine. Just barefoot, which was tagged as $5, when I checked out they said it was 8. They said they wouldn’t honor the price listed at the display either. I left without the wine.”
— AdorableBirthday2050, Reddit.com

I had a gallon of milk ring up for about a dollar more and I told the register operator that the sign had a different price and she said “ well this is the price now.” Which is bs I have worked different retail jobs for 30+ years, you get the price on the shelf. But it was a long day and I was too tired to argue or go to another store so…”
— ZestycloseDinner1713, Reddit.com

How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help?

If the class action lawsuit is successful, it could help customers get back some of the money they may have been overcharged. A lawsuit could also force Dollar General to implement new policies or practices to ensure that its prices are not deceptive.

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