Here is a review of what we know so far:
Which stores have been inspected in Montgomery County?
There are 23 Family Dollar stores and 32 Dollar General stores that have been inspected by the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office.
What happened during the inspections?
At each store, the Montgomery County auditor’s office scanned 50 random items and compared them to the sticker price. Recent comparisons found the price at the register didn’t match the list price for items at 26 of the 32 Dollar General stores and 15 of the 23 Family Dollar stores. Overall, Dollar General had a failure rate of 69%, and Family Dollar stores failed 43% of the tests.
What is causing the stores to have mismatched pricing?
Keith said understaffing and undertraining of workers are possible contributing factors to the failure rates. “That’s no excuse,” he said. “These stores are required to do right by their customers and if they advertise one price on the shelf that’s the price they should charge at the checkout.”
What happens next at the stores with failed inspections?
Rules allow stores to have an error rate of up to 2% on overcharges, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Stores that failed inspection will be revisited within 30 days for follow-up inspections.
Keith says his office is passing its findings along to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which regulates pricing statewide.
What is Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost doing?
A press release from Yost stated that, “After receiving consumer complaints from multiple counties, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is taking Dollar General to court for allegedly advertising goods for one price on shelves and charging a higher price at the register.”
“We’re looking not just for reimbursement, but we want a court order to make them stop doing this and to put adequate controls in place so that the price you see on the shelf is the price that they charge at the register,” Yost said. “I’m optimistic that we’ve got a good case and we’re going to get justice.”
What else is Yost saying?
“This is appalling behavior and should be answered for in a court of law,” Yost said. “If you see this happening in a store near you, let my office know. We’re here to protect Ohioans from being ripped off,” he said.
“Everything we buy these days costs more — Ohioans can ill-afford businesses that draw people in with the promise of low prices only to deceive them at the checkout counter.”
Which stores will be inspected next?
According to Mike Brill, Communications & Community Engagement Manager, the Montgomery County auditor’s office has finished inspecting all of the Dollar Generals and Family Dollars and will be starting next on Dollar Tree stores.
Where else is this happening?
After the Butler County Auditor’s office investigated 20 Dollar General stores countywide and found prices on store shelves were lower than at the registers the state attorney general has filed an $800,000-plus lawsuit.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing both Dollar General and Family Dollar in Butler County Common Pleas Court for violating the state’s Consumer Sales Practices Act.
Consumer complaints about pricing issues also prompted Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds’ office to do more testing, and a Rural King store in Hamilton is the latest to have items ring up at the register higher than they were marked on shelves.
Rural King has failed two inspections. “These results are alarming,” said Reynolds. “It’s hard to believe that 10 days after being informed that your store is overcharging customers and has a 32 percent failure rate that something wouldn’t be done to try and remedy the situation. Instead, it got worse.”
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