With prices on many consumer goods rising quickly, shoppers have come to grips with not everything at the dollar store costing $1, even when it seems it should. But in Ohio, Dollar General has crossed the line in advertising one price on store shelves while charging another at the checkout, according to the state's attorney general, Dave Yost. In response to Dollar General's dubious pricing, Yost has requested a restraining order against the nation's largest dollar-store chain to force it to stop the practice.
Stores in Ohio are permitted a 2% error rate on overcharges under state law, according to a release from the Ohio attorney general's office. But the retailer has far exceeded the Buckeye State's limit, with inspectors in Butler County reporting pricing error rates from 16.7% to a whopping 88.2% at 20 different Dollar General stores.
Court documents reveal pricing inconsistencies ranging from 20 cents to several dollars an item. After the audits, some stores were asked to include stickers at registers notifying customers that the prices that are rung up might not be what they saw advertised and that shoppers should verify the amounts charged for their items.
“There’s a mountain of evidence showing that Dollar General simply doesn’t care to fix the issue – and that’s despite numerous consumer complaints, failed auditor inspections and our lawsuit,” Yost said in a news release.
Yost's office also said that in some situations, the dollar-store chain refused to adjust prices even after the discrepancies were pointed out, leaving unhappy customers to perhaps wonder whether Dollar General lives by the motto, "The customer is always right."