(The Center Square) – Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has secured a consent judgment against Family Dollar Stores LLC.
Working through the Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section of her office, Mayes said Family Dollar Stores “inaccurately” advertised prices of store items.
Neither Mayes nor Family Dollar responded to The Center Square’s request for comment, but a press release from the Attorney General’s Office said that with today’s food prices, it is critical that Arizonans don’t pay more at the cash register than they saw listed on store shelves.
“Inaccurately advertising pricing is simply unacceptable,” said Mayes, a Democrat. “My office, along with Arizona Weights and Measures, will continue to hold businesses responsible for mispricing and protect Arizona consumers from false advertising.”
Along with paying $275,000 in civil penalties and another $25,000 in attorneys’ fees, Mayes said Family Dollar Stores LLC agreed to what are called injunctive terms to improve their pricing accuracy going forward. This includes Family Dollar “dedicating additional employee hours to ensure correct pricing,” spending an extra $300,000 to improve store employee training and oversight, and “promising consumers that Family Dollar will honor the advertised price” for customers.
“In the event that a price does not match, you should bring this to the attention of the business,” the Attorney General’s Office said. “If the business does not refund you or honor the lower price, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.”
A consent judgment is made by a judge and involves the consent of all parties involved, in this case Arizona and Family Dollar Stores, LLC.
Assistant Attorney General Connor Nolan handled this case along with Senior Litigation Counsel Jayme Weber and Consumer Protection and Advocacy Section attorney Kole Lyons.
The Family Dollar website says there are 146 stores in Arizona. Thirty-one of those are in Phoenix, 15 in Tucson and three in Mesa.
