Suit alleges Dollar General has generated millions of dollars by regularly and repeatedly charging more at the register than advertised
For Immediate Release:
October 27, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 19 states in filing a lawsuit against 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 coalition of state partners joined the FTC in filing a complaint, alleging that Dollar General has, for years, repeatedly mislabeled prices, overcharged consumers and failed to correct the issue despite extensive corporate knowledge of the problem. The states joining Alabama and the FTC in the lawsuit include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
“The price on the shelf is supposed to be the price you pay. We believe that Dollar General advertised one price and charged another at the register, and Alabama families who count every dollar were the ones who paid for it. We are joining with nineteen states and the FTC because this isn’t a one-off,” stated Attorney General Marshall.
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 reported the company did not honor advertised prices, 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.
The FTC and states allege these practices violate the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the states’ consumer protection laws, including Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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