CINCINNATI — Dollar General is on the hot seat. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing the chain for allegedly ripping customers off.
What You Need To Know
- Ohio AG Dave Yost has filed a lawsuit against Dollar General
- AG’s office received 12 complaints about unfair and deceptive practices at Dollar General stores
- Auditor Roger Reynolds found nearly 20 discrepancies between prices advertised and prices at the register
- Testing done by Butler County Auditor's Department of Weights and Measures found 20 Dollar General stores had errors between 16-88%
Twelve complaints were filed between March 2021 and August 2022 with the Attorney General’s Office about Dollar General’s alleged unfair and deceptive practices. The reports were from across the state, including stores in Lucas, Cuyahoga and Butler Counties.
“It was almost a dollar difference between the shelf price and what was ringing up at the register,” said Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds.
Just recently, the Butler County Auditor’s Office was contacted by a Hamilton resident who complained about these issues. After doing an investigation at a Dollar General in Hamilton, Reynolds found nearly 20 discrepancies between prices advertised on shelves and prices at the register.
The investigation also found that to be the case with dozens of other stores across Butler County. Reynolds also said stores would not budge on the prices.
“That right there was a big concern to us, that the store was not honoring the price that was advertised at the shelf,” said Reynolds. “But actually saying that the price at the register, regardless of the price on the shelf, the price at register was going to be the final price.”
Stores are permitted to have up to a 2% error rate on overcharges, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Testing done by the Butler County Auditor's Department of Weights and Measures found 20 Dollar General stores had errors between 16-88%.
The lawsuit was filed in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas. In addition to any monetary payout, Yost is asking that the chain be brought into compliance with the law.