New policies coming to Dollar General as part of agreement with Ohio AG’s office over pricing issues

BUTLER COUNTY — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Dollar General have come to an agreement to avoid a temporary restraining order over multiple allegations of deceptive pricing.

Multiple county auditors in Ohio, including in Montgomery and Butler counties, have inspected Dollar General stores and found many of their displayed prices on shelves didn’t match the prices customers were charged at checkout.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-Team: Half of Montgomery County Dollar General stores fail price inspections, county auditor says

News Center 7′s I-Team has reported on the price swapping accusations numerous times since November.

Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith and his team have been inspecting prices and found that over half of locations within the counties failed their price inspections.

“This is not just one or two items, they’re failing double digits, it is pretty significant, which is really concerning,” Keith previously said.

Yost filed a lawsuit against Dollar General in Butler County Common Pleas Court in November. The lawsuit cites violations of Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, saying Dollar General listed false prices on items and engaged in bait advertising.

>> RELATED: I-TEAM: Area Dollar General stores continue to fail inspections amid price swapping accusations

The stipulated order reached this week outlines terms and conditions Dollar General must implement, according to a spokesperson from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Among other things, the order:

• Requires employees required to charge a product’s shelf price if customers contend that they are being charged more at checkout
• Requires the company to educate all employees about the policy and to post signs in its Ohio stores informing customers of the policy
• Requires district managers to perform price checks for at least 25 items in each Ohio store every 45 days. If more than five items show discrepancies, the corporate office must be notified
• Requires Dollar General stores to notify the corporate office in the event that a price verification report conducted by a county auditor indicates a fail rate of more than 2 percent. Notification must occur within two days and discrepancies must then be corrected

Yost called the order “just a step” in the legal process.

“Litigation is not over, but this is a step in the right direction,” he said.

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