UPDATE — October 27, 2026: Dollar General has responded to the lawsuit. In a public statement dated October 26, 2026, which the company sent to NCN, Dollar General rejected the suggestion that it is not committed to affordability, said its goal is 100% accuracy between shelf prices and register prices, said it cooperated with the Federal Trade Commission's investigation, and said it will defend the litigation vigorously while remaining open to a reasonable resolution. The allegations in the complaint have not been proven in court, and no court has ruled on them.

WASHINGTON — October 26, 2026

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 20 states sued Dollar General Corporation on Monday, alleging the company engaged in long-running deceptive pricing practices by routinely charging customers more at the register than the prices displayed on shelves, price tags and advertisements, according to the FTC and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The complaint alleges 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 Wisconsin DOJ said in a press release issued Monday.

"Wisconsin takes price accuracy seriously," Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Secretary Randy Romanski said in the release. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in the same release: "The prices that folks see displayed when they're shopping should be the same as the prices they're charged when they check out."

According to the complaint, as summarized by the FTC and the Wisconsin DOJ:

  • Thousands of Dollar General stores allegedly took advantage of vulnerable shoppers by extracting millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges, with insufficient safeguards to prevent the practice.
  • Dollar General allegedly received tens of thousands of consumer complaints stating the company did not honor the advertised price.
  • Despite being made aware of the problem, Dollar General allegedly failed to implement policies and practices to adequately address it.

The FTC alleges the practices violate the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and Wisconsin alleges violations of Wisconsin consumer protection and weights and measures laws, according to the Wisconsin DOJ. The FTC's case page lists the matter as pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (FTC Matter/File Number 2623006).

Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the FTC's announcement: "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."

The states joining the FTC are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin, according to the FTC.

Minnesota is not among the plaintiff states. NCN is asking the Minnesota Attorney General's office whether Minnesota has received similar price-accuracy complaints about Dollar General stores in Minnesota or examined joining the case. That inquiry had not been answered at publication time.

Dollar General operates more than 21,000 stores nationwide and markets itself as a low-priced alternative to large discount and big-box retailers, according to the FTC. Reuters reported Monday that representatives for Dollar General could not immediately be reached for comment on the complaint. NCN has also sought comment from Dollar General; any response will be added to this article as an update.

Wisconsin regulators have acted on Dollar General pricing before. In November 2023, DATCP announced an $850,006 settlement resolving 662 alleged price-accuracy violations found in inspections of 238 Wisconsin stores, in which inspectors alleged 9% of checked products scanned higher than the posted price, by an average of 17%. Dollar General did not admit a violation under that settlement, according to DATCP.

These are allegations in a civil complaint. No court has ruled that Dollar General violated the law in this case, and the case is pending.

Wisconsin consumers who believe they were overcharged can file a weights and measures complaint through DATCP at datcp.wi.gov, by email at DATCPWeightsAndMeasures@wisconsin.gov, or by phone at (608) 224-4942, according to the Wisconsin DOJ.

This is a developing story. NCN will update this article — not publish a new one — when Dollar General or the Minnesota Attorney General's office responds.

  • National Correspondent Network