A.G. says Missouri Dollar General stores are selling products at higher than listed prices
Dollar General faces a lawsuit from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which has accused the national retailer of deceptive and unfair pricing.
In a joint investigation with the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Attorney General Andrew Bailey found that 92 out of the 147 Missouri Dollar General stores visited were selling some products for prices other than what was listed on the merchandise or shelves.
“Prices are at an all-time high,” Bailey said in a release. “The last thing Missourians need is to feel the brunt of Dollar General’s scheme. We will move forward undeterred in our fight to obtain full restitution for all affected.”
Bailey has asked for an injunction, full restitution, civil penalties, and other relief if Dollar General is found guilty of violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
“Candles, toilet paper, lip balm, lemonade, tire foam and drink coolers all have one thing in common at Dollar General stores across the state of Missouri: the prices charged at the point of sale are frequently higher than the prices listed on the shelf,” states the petition filed against the retailer.
Investigators reported price discrepancies up to $6.50 per item, though the average amount overcharged was $2.71 for more than 5,000 items price checked. Some items were also found to cost less than the advertised price.
Dollar General operates more than 600 retail stores across Missouri. The retailer is a common staple of small rural communities, sometimes being the only provider of grocery items in a given municipality.
The retailer did not respond to requests for comment in time for inclusion in this article.
However, when asked by Barrons in March about accusations of overcharging, it released a statement saying, “Dollar General is committed to providing customers with accurate prices on items purchased in our stores, and we are disappointed any time we fail to deliver on this commitment. When a pricing discrepancy is identified, our store teams are empowered to correct the matter on the spot for our customers.”
Some may wonder why the Department of Agriculture was involved in this investigation. It is because of the state department’s Weights and Measures Division, which is responsible for surveilling devices used for weighing and measuring items, such as price scanners in retail stores.
“I applaud the Attorney General for working with our Weights and Measures team to protect Missouri consumers by ensuring that the price charged at checkout matches the advertised price on the shelf,” said Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn in a release.
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This isn’t the first time that Missouri’s Attorney General took on a national retailer. In 2013, former Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit against Walgreens for deceptive pricing, resulting in a 2014 court order to resolve incorrect and expired tags.
Koster filed a motion to hold the retailer in contempt in 2015, after a renewed investigation found more instances of incorrect and expired price tags.
Part of the responsibilities of the Missouri Attorney General include prosecuting perpetrators of consumer fraud. Bailey encourages consumers to report these crimes to his office by calling the Consumer Protection hotline at 800-392-8222 or submitting a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri attorney general sues Dollar General for deceptive pricing
