FTC sues Dollar General over pricing

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Dollar General on Sunday, alleging the retailer engaged in deceptive pricing practices. The complaint, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, claims the company charged customers higher prices at the checkout counter than the amounts listed on shelf tags and in advertisements. Twenty state governments joined the federal action against the Goodlettsville, Tennessee, based chain.

The FTC asserts that Dollar General had extensive corporate knowledge of the issue but failed to fix it. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, wrote that the company betrayed the trust of millions of consumers. He stated the practices imposed financial harm on communities and individuals struggling to make their paychecks last.

The 20 states participating in the suit are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin. The group includes the company’s home state of Tennessee.

Dollar General did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The company is headquartered just outside Nashville. The legal action arrives as American consumers face frustration with rising costs and new pricing methods used by major retailers, including the use of artificial intelligence tools.

The complaint describes the pricing gaps as long-running. The FTC and the 20 states are seeking to address what they characterize as a systematic failure to correct register discrepancies. The case will proceed in federal court in Tennessee.