Dollar General will pay Pennsylvania more than $1.5 million after the attorney general said the company overcharged customers, with stores failing more than 40% of pricing accuracy inspections over the span of multiple years. 

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said its investigation uncovered "numerous" instances when customers were charged higher prices when checking out at Dollar General, which operates more than 900 retail locations throughout the state. 

"Our investigation found widespread and repeated instances of Pennsylvanians being overcharged at checkout — blatant deception of customers all over the Commonwealth," Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a news release. "We are hopeful the corporation takes this settlement very seriously as Pennsylvanians expect to pay the price that is on stickers and labels."

The attorney general's office said its investigation revealed that during 2019 and 2023, Dollar General failed more than 40 percent of pricing accuracy inspections. 

Dollar General Corporation and its parent company Dolgen Corp, LLC will pay Pennsylvania $1.55 million to resolve allegations that stores misrepresented prices and engaged in practices prohibited by the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. 

The settlement also requires Dollar General to modify its business practices to prevent future violations of Pennsylvania's consumer protection law, the attorney general's office said. The changes include training employees, maintaining enough staffing to update shelf tags weekly and posting notices at registers saying the lowest posted price will be honored. 

Shoppers who see retailers charging higher prices at checkout than advertised are encouraged to file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection online, over the phone at 717-787-3391 or by emailing scams@attorneygeneral.gov.