Dollar General, Ohio AG reach agreement on price discrepancy policy; Suit continues

Dollar General and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office agreed to an order regarding pricing discrepancies as the lawsuit continues.

In the order, Dollar General agreed to adjust the price of items to the shelf label price if an item rings up at a higher price at the register, according to Butler County Common Pleas Court records. If a discrepancy is discovered, the store will also make sure to match the shelf label price and charged price as soon as possible.

Other agreements include stores performing price checks on at least 25 items — including at least five sale or promotional items — in each Ohio store every 45 days. If more than two items have price discrepancies, the district manager will meet with the store manager. If there are more than five price discrepancies the district or store manager will notify a corporate designee, according to court records.

If a store had a fail rate of more than 2% during a price verification report by a county auditor, the store must report it to a corporate designee within two days.

Dollar General will also notify employees of the price discrepancy policy within seven business days and post signs in stores informing customers of the policy within 15 business days.

The agreement is a step in the right direction, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost noted, but it is not the end of the case.

The attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against the company last year accusing Dollar General of items having higher costs at the registers than they did on the shelves.

In November, records from Montgomery County Auditor’s Office showed 32 local stores from Dollar General and Family Dollar failed price inspections. At least 98% of items scanned during the inspection must be correct to pass.