The agency, along with 20 states, allege that customers are charged more at the register than prices displayed on tags and in ads.

The Federal Trade Commission and 20 U.S. states are suing Dollar General for allegedly engaging in deceptive pricing practices in which the discount chain charges shoppers more at registers than the prices displayed on price tags and advertisements.

“Dollar General has betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers and imposed significant financial harm on communities and consumers who are already struggling to make their paychecks last,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement released Monday.

Dollar General did not immediately respond to Retail Dive’s request for comment on the allegations.

The FTC’s complaint — which contains partially redacted internal Dollar General emails and company communications — outlines consumer complaints about different prices at the register and outlines an undercover investigation from the federal agency.

The agency alleges Dollar General has often charged more for products at registers than prices listed in its circulars, on digital channels and in-store displays. The dollar store has received more than 29,000 complaints regarding price honoring between January 2023 and the end of March this year.

Undercover purchases made by FTC investigators from January to April at Dollar General stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Maryland found that every purchase resulted in the dollar store charging more at the register than advertised elsewhere.

For example, an undercover purchase on Jan. 16 at a Dollar General store in Ohio resulted in 13 out of 58 items acquired having a different price than that listed on a product label or shelf.

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