Florida joins FTC lawsuit against Dollar General over pricing

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Published October 27, 2026 7:49 AM EDT

The Brief

    • Federal regulators and 20 states, including Florida, sued Dollar General, alleging long-running deceptive pricing practices that overcharged customers at checkout.
    • The lawsuit claims the retailer repeatedly charged more at the register than displayed on store shelves.
    • Officials say the company ignored tens of thousands of consumer complaints while extracting millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Federal Trade Commission and 20 states, including Florida, filed a lawsuit against Dollar General Corporation, alleging the retail chain routinely charged customers higher prices at checkout than listed on store shelves and advertisements. 

Dollar General overcharge lawsuit

What we know:

Federal regulators and a coalition of 20 states claim Dollar General engaged in widespread, long-running deceptive pricing schemes that cost consumers millions of dollars. Officials said the retailer operates more than 21,000 stores nationwide and failed to fix pricing errors despite corporate knowledge of the issue. 

The states joining the federal lawsuit are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. Regulators allege the company extracted unlawful overcharges from vulnerable, low- and fixed-income shoppers who rely on accurate shelf pricing. 

Consumer protection enforcement

What we don't know:

Court documents do not list a specific total dollar figure for the overall financial damage, stating only that millions of dollars were extracted from shoppers nationwide. It remains unclear when the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee will hold its first hearing on the matter. 

What they're saying:

"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," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The FTC’s action underscores the agency’s commitment to lowering costs for consumers by stopping deceptive pricing practices that harm Americans." 

Legal action details

By the numbers:

The Federal Trade Commission authorized the complaint in a 2-0 vote before filing it in federal court. Dollar General received tens of thousands of complaints from customers who were charged more than the advertised tag price. 

Regulators allege the practices violate the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and multiple state laws. The court will ultimately decide the case following the formal complaint. 

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Federal Trade Commission, which released court filing details and official statements, as well as documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

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