Nebraska Joins FTC and 19 States in Suing Dollar General for Charging Consumers More than Advertised for Many Products

Dollar General has generated millions of dollars by regularly and repeatedly charging more at the register than the prices it advertises, the FTC and states allege

Lincoln – Nebraska, along with the Federal Trade Commission and 19 other states, sued Dollar General Corporation for engaging 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.

"Nebraskans expect that they are charged at the register the prices that are advertised," said Attorney General Mike Hilgers. "Dollar General betrayed that trust at the expense of hard-working Nebraska families. Our office is committed to holding Dollar General accountable for these practices and ensuring that consumers are protected from deceptive pricing and unfair overcharges." 

According to the complaint:

Thousands of Dollar General stores have taken advantage of vulnerable shoppers by extracting millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges with insufficient safeguards to prevent the practice. 
Dollar General received tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across the country who say the company did not honor the advertised price, demonstrating widespread consumer harm and confirming that customers nationwide have been charged more than the advertised price.
Dollar General knows that it harms consumers by charging more at the register than the prices it advertises, as reflected by the numerous complaints it has received.
Despite being made aware of the problem, Dollar General has failed to implement policies and practices to adequately address the problem, according to the complaint.

The FTC and states allege these practices violate the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and Nebraska law. 

Nebraska and 19 state partners joined the FTC in filing a complaint alleging that Dollar General has, for years, repeatedly mislabeled prices, overcharged consumers, and failed to correct the issue despite extensive corporate knowledge of the problem. The additional states joining the FTC lawsuit include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.