Illinois joins FTC lawsuit accusing Dollar General of charging more at the register than its advertised prices

Illinois has joined the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in suing Dollar General, accusing the discount retailer of regularly charging customers more at checkout than the prices on its shelves, tags and advertisements.^{1, 2, 3}

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced the lawsuit Monday.¹ The complaint alleges that the company has mislabeled prices and overcharged shoppers for years and has not fixed the problem despite knowing about it.^{1, 3} Raoul’s office said the practice has cost consumers millions of dollars.¹

“Dollar General has generated millions of dollars by regularly and repeatedly charging shoppers more at the register,” Raoul said in a statement.¹ He said the overcharging “harms vulnerable families and consumers” at a time when many necessities have become harder to afford, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.²

The allegations have not been proven in court, the Herald-Whig noted.³ Dollar General did not immediately respond to requests for comment from either newspaper.^{2, 3}

What the lawsuit says

The coalition says Dollar General has received tens of thousands of consumer complaints that it did not honor its advertised prices.^{1, 3} It accuses the company of violating the FTC Act, the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Illinois consumer protection laws.^{1, 3}

Court documents describe two cases in which Illinois shoppers were charged between $0.75 and $1.78 more than Dollar General advertised online, according to the Sun-Times.² Cases from other states describe charges of more than four dollars above the listed price and coupons that were not honored, the paper reported.²

The complaint also says an Illinois store manager told an upset customer in April 2024 that the price at the register was final and no discount could be given, the Sun-Times reported.² An undercover FTC investigator found that at one store the price screen faced only the employee, and in other cases the screens were broken, according to the paper.²

Who joined

Besides Illinois, the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin joined the suit.^{1, 2}

Locally

In Quincy, the chain has several stores, including locations on Maine Street, Broadway Street and North and South 12th streets, and it reaches into smaller Adams County communities, the Herald-Whig reported.³

The release from Raoul’s office links to the complaint, which readers can review on the attorney general’s website.¹