New Jersey and 19 other states are suing Dollar General, alleging the discount chain has charged shoppers more at the register than the prices on its shelves for years.

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced Tuesday, Oct. 27, that New Jersey joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan coalition in filing the lawsuit. The complaint, filed Monday, Oct. 26, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, accuses Dollar General of costing customers millions of dollars in overcharges on food, cleaning supplies and household staples, according to the state's announcement.

Cherry Hill has a Dollar General at 701 Kings Hwy N. The chain operates 145 stores in New Jersey, according to the complaint as reported by PhillyVoice. A third-party directory lists 195 locations statewide.

"Bait-and-switch pricing hurts New Jersey families who are already struggling just to get by," Davenport said, according to the state's announcement.

Thousands of complaints

The 95-page complaint alleges Dollar General received at least 29,265 customer complaints categorized as "Did Not Honor Marked Price" between Jan. 1, 2023, and March 31, 2026, Patch reported. Those complaints came from all 48 states where the company operates.

FTC investigators made undercover purchases at Dollar General stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Maryland between January and April 2026. "Every single undercover purchase resulted in Dollar General charging more at the register than the price advertised for multiple products," the complaint states, according to Patch.

At one Cleveland store, 13 of 58 items rang up at a different price than the one on the shelf or label, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit includes a New Jersey-specific account. In October 2024, a shopper complained that a buy-two-get-one-free deal on bags of chips advertised in a flyer was not honored at the register, according to the complaint.

How it happens

Dollar General changes prices weekly, according to the complaint. Employees are supposed to swap out shelf labels during a five-hour "Compliance Tuesday" shift. Most price changes are increases, so when the register updates before the shelf tag does, the shopper usually pays more.

Stores are often "too thinly staffed" to print and post new labels, the complaint alleges.

Shoppers often miss the errors because prices "flash quickly on the screen" at checkout, the complaint says. In one FTC undercover buy, the screen listing items and prices faced only the employee.

Not the first time

This is not New Jersey's first action against Dollar General. The state reached a $1.2 million settlement with the company in 2023 over pricing errors, according to the complaint. Since 2019, Dollar General has settled seven state cases with six attorneys general and consumer protection agencies, paying more than $6 million total, the complaint says.

Christopher Peterson, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, called the pricing practices unacceptable. "New Jersey will not tolerate deceptive pricing, especially when targeted at consumers who can least afford it," Peterson said, according to the state's announcement.

New Jersey's claim is under the state Consumer Fraud Act. The state is seeking civil penalties, restitution for consumers and a permanent order barring the practice.

Dollar General pushes back

Dollar General disputed the allegations in a statement. The lawsuit "suggests that we have abandoned our mission and willfully disregarded the affordability needs of our customers," the company said, according to PhillyVoice. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

The company said it learned of the FTC investigation in early February and has turned over more than 200,000 documents, according to Patch. Dollar General said it made a counteroffer to a proposed settlement but was surprised when the FTC sued instead.

Residents who believe they were overcharged can file a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs at njconsumeraffairs.gov.