COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission and 19 other states to file a major lawsuit against Dollar General, accusing the discount retailer of persisting in deceptive pricing practices that repeatedly overcharge shoppers at the register.
The joint lawsuit alleges that Dollar General has knowingly mislabeled shelf prices across thousands of its stores nationwide, extracting millions of dollars from consumers by charging higher amounts during checkout and failing to fix the discrepancies despite extensive awareness among corporate leadership.
“The prices on store shelves are what customers should be paying,” said Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson. “Dollar General has allowed the overcharges to continue at the expense of the very people who keep its lights on.”
This action marks the second time in four years that Ohio officials have targeted the chain. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office previously sued Dollar General in November 2022 following a wave of consumer complaints regarding shelf-to-register price mismatches. That case resulted in a $1 million settlement a year later, which required the company to implement specific corrective measures.
However, officials say the unlawful practices never stopped. Tens of thousands of consumers nationwide have reported similar experiences, demonstrating widespread harm and underscoring the company’s ongoing refusal to honor advertised shelf prices.
The regulatory coalition alleges that Dollar General’s pricing actions violate several consumer protection statutes, including the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.
Alongside Ohio and the FTC, the multi-state coalition includes the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.
