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Government inspections, consumer complaints, congressional scrutiny, and possible enforcement concerning discrepancies between posted and actual prices at registers and fuel pumps.
Dollar General has agreed to a $1.875 million settlement with the New York attorney general’s office over allegations that the discount chain repeatedly overcharged customers across the state. The agreement requires price-accuracy safeguards at more than 600 New York stores and directs food and personal items worth $1.875 million to a regional food bank in upstate New York.
Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate 7-Eleven and Circle K after a Guardian investigation found the chains frequently charge more at the register than the prices on shelves, prompting four other House Democrats to publicly press the companies on the issue. The lawmakers — all Democrats — said the practice hits working families already struggling with affordability, and Balint urged the FTC to hold the companies accountable if the discrepancies are deliberate.
Government price-accuracy inspection records from 2023 through 2025 show 7-Eleven and Circle K, America's two largest convenience-store chains, routinely charged customers more than posted prices at the register and at fuel pumps, according to a Guardian investigation published Thursday. Between 2023 and 2025, Circle K failed 35% of government inspections in Florida, 62% in North Carolina and 82% in Columbus, Ohio; 7-Eleven flunked 47% of inspections in both Colorado and Utah and 79% in Ontario county, upstate New York.