Dollar General Faces Federal Lawsuit Over Widespread Price Overcharging at 21,000 Stores

Federal Trade Commission and 20 States Target Nation’s Largest Dollar-Store Chain

The Federal Trade Commission and 20 states filed a lawsuit against Dollar General on Monday, accusing the nation’s largest dollar-store chain of systematically overcharging customers at its more than 21,000 stores across the United States. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Nashville, alleges the discount retailer charged customers more at the register than the prices displayed on shelves, tags, and advertisements for years.

The 95-page legal complaint claims the scope of Dollar General’s “pricing misconduct” is staggering, affecting millions of purchases nationwide. The agency charged with protecting consumers from deceptive, unfair, and anticompetitive business practices says the retailer extracted millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges from shoppers who depend on advertised low prices to manage tight household budgets.

“Dollar General has betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers and imposed significant financial harm on communities and consumers who are already struggling to make their paychecks last,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.

State authorities from Mississippi to Ohio to Nebraska to Utah joined the case as plaintiffs. The FTC filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Dollar General’s home state. New York did not join the complaint after reaching a separate settlement of nearly $1.9 million with Dollar General less than two weeks ago for overcharging shoppers in that state.

Pattern of Inaccurate Pricing Persisted Despite Corporate Knowledge

The FTC’s allegations state that Dollar General has for years engaged in deceptive conduct that harms the very consumers it claims to serve. The company typically serves customers in more rural and low-income areas of the country, communities where accurate pricing carries particular weight for household budgeting. Although Dollar General promises convenience, low prices, and value, the pattern of inaccurate pricing has persisted for years, according to the suit.

The filings reveal Dollar General received tens of thousands of complaints from shoppers who said they did not receive an advertised price. The company failed to correct the issue despite extensive corporate knowledge of the problem, the FTC alleges. Thousands of consumer complaints claiming the retailer failed to honor advertised prices at checkout demonstrate Dollar General knowingly harmed customers, according to the agency.

The lawsuit cites a Guardian investigation published in December 2025, which found Dollar General stores failed more than 4,300 government price-accuracy inspections in 23 states over a three-year period. That article “was the subject of significant internal deliberation and discussions” within the company, the lawsuit noted.

Company Policies Failed to Achieve Price Accuracy in Practice

The agency acknowledged Dollar General has policies in place that are supposed to align register prices with shelf prices. The company directs employees to remove and replace outdated labels on certain days of the week, for example. However, the lawsuit claims these on-paper policies to update pricing achieve little in practice because they do not track whether the printed labels are actually affixed to shelves.

Workers told the Guardian that, because of understaffing, they are often too busy to change those labels. The FTC cited a Guardian interview with a former lead sales associate in Louisiana who revealed the pressure employees face.

“I threw away tags sometimes, to keep me or a co-worker out of trouble,” the former lead sales associate said.

The Federal Trade Commission added that American consumers depend on Dollar General’s advertised low prices to make ends meet on tight budgets, while prices that don’t reflect advertised deals make it impossible for them to manage household finances. The persistent mislabeling of products resulted in millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges, the agency alleged.

Dollar General Denies Willfully Disregarding Customer Affordability Needs

Dollar General pushed back forcefully against the allegations in a statement released Monday. The company said it was made aware of the FTC’s investigation in early February and has cooperated by producing documents, data, and testimony since then.

“The lawsuit filed today suggests that we have abandoned our mission and willfully disregarded the affordability needs of our customers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our goal is 100% accuracy between shelf and register prices in every store,” the company stated.

The retailer acknowledged that occasional price discrepancies can occur, as with other retailers, despite its policies and procedures. When that happens, store teams are instructed, empowered, and expected to make things right for the customer, according to the company. Dollar General emphasized it has enhanced its price-accuracy processes in recent years and remains committed to continuous improvement.

Company Open to Resolution While Defending Lawsuit

Dollar General said it will defend the lawsuit while remaining open to discussing a resolution. The company revealed the FTC and Dollar General had exchanged potential remedies when the lawsuit was filed, suggesting settlement discussions were already underway. The suit seeks a permanent injunction, along with monetary and other relief.

The action arrives during a period of heightened consumer concern about fairness in retail pricing as more stores introduce digital price tags. Both Walmart and Target have issued public statements promising price transparency and consistency online and at the register. Home Depot recently made the same commitment, reflecting industry-wide pressure to maintain accurate pricing amid advancing technology.

The case represents one of the most significant federal enforcement actions against a major retailer for pricing practices in recent years. With Dollar General operating more than 21,000 stores nationwide, the impact of any resolution or court-ordered remedies could reshape how discount retailers manage price accuracy and communicate with consumers about advertised deals.