Arkansas AG joining others in suit against Dollar General for false advertising

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 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.

The complaint alleges that for years Dollar General has repeatedly mislabeled prices, overcharged consumers and failed to correct the issue despite extensive corporate knowledge of the problem. 

“Arkansans shouldn’t have to pay more at the register than the price they were promised on the shelf,” Griffin said. “Businesses have a responsibility to advertise their prices honestly, and those that deceive consumers must be held accountable. My office will continue cracking down on deceptive practices that hurt Arkansas consumers.”

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.

Press reports say Dollar General has denied the allegations of price hikes and deceptive practices in response to the joint lawsuit, saying it worked with the FTC during its investigation to provide data. The company said it is willing to seek ways to resolve the matter.

The other states joining the FTC lawsuit include Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.

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