Dollar General faces suit over register prices in 20-state complaint

Tennessee has joined 19 other states and the Federal Trade Commission in a federal complaint alleging Dollar General charged customers more at the register than the prices posted on store shelves for seven years. The complaint, filed against the retailer, describes the conduct as "staggering."

The complaint states that Dollar General has received nearly 30,000 complaints about pricing over the past three years. It argues the alleged overcharging affects low-income households, saying households earning $35,000 or less annually account for 60% of the company's revenue. The complaint also states that 80% of Dollar General stores are in towns of 20,000 people or fewer.

The complaint redacts specifics about the alleged misconduct. It alleges Dollar General extracted millions of dollars in overcharges by not putting safeguards in place to prevent them. "The consequences of these overcharges fall most heavily on shoppers living on razor-thin margins," the suit alleges.

The complaint further states, "Rather than ensuring its prices at checkout are accurate, for years Dollar General avoided implementing safeguards to prevent continued overcharging, effectively shifting the burden of its own operational shortcomings onto the very communities and consumers who can least afford it." The complaint alleges Dollar General "has taken advantage of vulnerable shoppers and has extracted millions of dollars in unlawful overcharges."

More than 100,000 Davidson County voters have cast ballots since early voting began Oct. 14, with 9,844 voters turning out Monday across the county's 15 early voting locations. The total reached 100,723 votes, which is 20.87% of registered voters in the county, averaging 9,157 voters per day. Early voting continues through Thursday.

The Election Commission office, Scarritt Bennett Center and Metro Office Building, the three locations with the fewest voters overall, recorded their busiest days Monday. Oracle plans to hold activities Nov. 12-14 at 2300 Bowline Ave. for the groundbreaking of its Nashville headquarters on the East Bank, including a Community Day on Nov. 14 with hands-on activities, an Oracle Red Bull F1 Racing simulator and food trucks.