29,265 Complaints in U.S. Lawsuit Against Dollar General; Company Denies Pricing Allegations
Key Facts
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and 20 states sued Dollar General, accusing it of charging higher prices at checkout than those displayed on shelves, tags and advertisements. The complaint says the company received at least 29,265 complaints classified as failures to honor the listed price between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2026, from the 48 states where it operates. No court ruling has been issued on the allegations, and the plaintiffs are seeking monetary relief and a permanent injunction. The commission said its vote authorizing the lawsuit was 2-0. The case focuses on pricing accuracy at a chain the commission says operates more than 21,000 stores in the United States.
Dollar General says it cooperated with the investigation and provided the commission with more than 200,000 documents and over 350 gigabytes of data. It also said its goal is to achieve "100% accuracy between shelf prices and checkout prices in every store," and that discrepancies can sometimes occur, with store employees authorized to correct them for customers. According to the company, sworn testimony from its representatives concluded three days before it received, on September 23, 2026, a draft complaint and draft consent order from commission staff. It added that it spent the following four weeks trying to resolve the dispute without litigation. The company said it agreed to several non-monetary commitments and made a counteroffer on compensation, then was surprised by the lawsuit.
The complaint cited undercover purchases at stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Maryland, saying each resulted in customers being charged more at checkout than the advertised prices for several products. In Cleveland on January 16, 2026, the prices of 13 of 58 items differed from the displayed prices, a rate of 22.4%. Eight items cost more than advertised and 5 cost less, leaving a net overcharge of $3.25. In Springfield, Missouri, on February 27, the prices of 6 of 59 items differed, a rate of 10.2%; 4 items cost more and 2 cost less. The net overcharge in that transaction was $4.07, according to the complaint.
In Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, on March 11, 2026, the prices of 6 of 60 items differed, a rate of 10%, leaving a net overcharge of $2.60. In Baltimore on April 1, commission investigators found price discrepancies on 5 of 59 items, a rate of 8.5%; all 5 discrepancies were overcharges, totaling a net $3.65. These examples describe the details cited by the plaintiffs, while the allegations remain before the court. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the company "betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers" and, in his words, caused financial harm to communities and families trying to stretch the value of their paychecks. That is the agency’s characterization, not a court ruling in the case.
The complaint places the current dispute within a history of state actions over pricing accuracy. It says the company reached 7 settlements with 6 attorneys general offices and consumer protection agencies between 2019 and 2026, paying more than $6 million in penalties. On store performance, the company reported same-store sales growth of 3.0% in fiscal 2025, compared with an increase of 1.4% in 2024. It attributed 2025 growth to a 1.6% rise in customer traffic and a 1.4% increase in average transaction value. In the market, the stock closed at $128.42 on October 26, then at $126.86 on October 27; Reuters reported that it fell more than 4% on the afternoon of October 26 after the lawsuit was announced. The case remains pending before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, where the commission and states are seeking monetary relief and a permanent injunction.