The FTC accuses Dollar General of routinely overcharging customers

A one-dollar deals sign is displayed at a Dollar General discount store in California. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images Dollar General is facing fresh federal scrutiny over its pricing practices.The US Federal Trade Commission said Monday it has filed a lawsuit, along with 20 states, accusing the discount retailer of deceptive pricing on its shelves, price tags, and advertisements."Dollar General has, for years, repeatedly mislabeled prices, overcharged consumers and failed to correct the issue despite extensive corporate knowledge of the problem," the FTC said in a statement.The company operates more than 21,000 US stores and typically serves customers in more rural and low-income areas of the country.The filings say Dollar General has received tens of thousands of complaints from shoppers who said they did not receive an advertised price and that the company failed to adequately address the problem.As a result, Dollar General received millions of dollars from overcharging customers, the FTC alleged.Dollar General did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.The action comes less than two weeks after New York Attorney General Letitia James reached a settlement of nearly $1.9 million in food and personal items as a civil penalty for overcharging shoppers in the state. New York did not join the FTC's complaint.US consumers have been particularly worried about fairness in retail pricing as more stores introduce digital price tags. Both Walmart and Target have issued public statements promising price transparency and consistency online and at the register. Home Depot recently did the same. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Dominick Reuter is a senior retail reporter for Business Insider, primarily covering Walmart, Target, Costco, and other big box retailers. His stories tend to focus on issues and trends that affect employees and customers, such as affordability challenges and the growing race to provide ultra-fast delivery services on e-commerce orders.Prior to joining BI in 2019, Dominick worked for more than a decade as an independent photojournalist covering a wide range of stories for global wire services and newspapers, including Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and Agence France-Presse.Dominick studied photojournalism at Boston University and later earned a Masters in business and economics journalism from Columbia University.If you're an employee or customer with a story to share, please contact me via email or text/call/Signal at 646-768-4750.