Wire reporting: (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Federal Trade Commission said Monday that it and 20 states sued Dollar General Corp., alleging the discount chain charged shoppers more at the register than prices shown on shelves, tags and advertisements^1,3.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, where Dollar General is based in Goodlettsville, just outside Nashville, according to the agency and an Associated Press account carried by The Philadelphia Inquirer^3,4.

The FTC said Dollar General operates more than 21,000 stores and that the complaint alleges thousands of them extracted millions of dollars in overcharges with insufficient safeguards³.

The agency said the company received tens of thousands of complaints from customers who said advertised prices were not honored, and that it failed to put in place policies that adequately fixed the problem despite that notice^1,3.

Commissioner staff were authorized to file the case on a 2-0 Commission vote, the FTC said, alleging violations of the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and state laws³.

The states named in the FTC release are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin^1,3.

Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the company "betrayed the trust of millions of American consumers," according to the agency release³.

CNBC said Dollar General shares fell about 4% after the announcement and that the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment; the AP account carried by the Inquirer likewise said the company had not returned a comment request^1,4.

WTRF, citing Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson's office, said Ohio sued Dollar General in November 2022 over the same type of shelf-versus-register mismatch, reached a $1 million settlement about a year later, and joined the new federal case after alleging overcharges continued⁵.

The FTC note on the filing said a complaint means the Commission has reason to believe the law is being violated and that a court will decide the case; Dollar General's response on the merits was not in the reporting this desk could read³.