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Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

(www.theguardian.com)
510 points bookofjoe | 4 comments | 07 Dec 25 14:37 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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cs702 ◴[07 Dec 25 23:15 UTC] No.46186364[source]▶
> Red Baron frozen pizzas, listed on the shelf at $5, rang up at $7.65. Bounty paper towels, shelf price $10.99, rang up at $15.50. Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Stouffer’s frozen meatloaf, Sprite and Pepsi, ibuprofen, Klondike Minis – shoppers were overpaying for all of them. Pedigree puppy food, listed at $12.25, rang up at $14.75.

Surely, now that this made the news, there will be an investigation into the fraudulent behavior of Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Left unsaid is that both Dollar General and Family Dollar would become unprofitable if they stop tricking customers. (Both companies typically earn only 3-4% on sales.)

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jeltz ◴[07 Dec 25 23:31 UTC] No.46186504[source]▶
It was investigated, the issue is that the fines are smaller than the profit. I would personally want to see things like this considered fraud and that it can result in prison sentences for executives and other people invovled in the decision making.
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rtp4me ◴[08 Dec 25 02:48 UTC] No.46187763[source]▶
You want prison sentences for execs if you were charged $1.50 for a can of corn instead of $1.45? Surely you can't be serious.
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hedora ◴[08 Dec 25 03:42 UTC] No.46188037[source]▶
If there’s a paper trail showing they authorized it, and the total amount of fraud is enough for felony charges (a few thousand bucks, I think), then yeah, throw their asses in prison, and make them refund the money they had the business steal out of their personal funds.

I’m all for limited liability corporations, but if there is a smoking gun that shows you intentionally engaged in criminal activity, that should pierce the liability shield.

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1. rtp4me ◴[08 Dec 25 04:01 UTC] No.46188143[source]▶
Do you honestly believe a senior exec at a company specifically said to charge the customer more than what the price on the shelf says? Chances are, in the world of computers and automation, mis-pricing just happens. Its a chance we all take as consumers. You just have to be mindful when shopping.
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2. fzeroracer ◴[08 Dec 25 05:31 UTC] No.46188727[source]▶
I don't know about you, but shopping at major grocery stores I have rarely been mischarged and I check my receipts/final price pretty religiously. If Dollar Tree consistently overcharges people then there should be an investigation, discovery and jail time if they willingly enable fraud. And given that this entire thread is about how they frequently overcharge people I think it matters.
3. Tadpole9181 ◴[08 Dec 25 05:31 UTC] No.46188729[source]▶
Why, yes, I actually do. Just like BMW execs specifically instructed engineers to cheat at emissions testing.

And last time I checked, you don't get to just say "oopsie woopsies, I only accidentally committed fraud of a mass scale exclusively in a way that benefits me for a prolonged period of time that would obviously show up on books and intentionally hid it until caught" and get out of punishment.

If I break the law, I get arrested. Or am I allowed to "accidentally" try to carry out a new PC from Best Buy several times in a row?

4. maccard ◴[08 Dec 25 07:52 UTC] No.46189557[source]▶
For all intents and purposes “mispricing” doesn’t just happen widely. This is a policy problem with the stores. The difference between an accident and fraud is intent - it’s pretty clear there’s systemic intent here.

> do you honestly believe a senior exec at a company specially said to charge the customer more than what the price on the shelf says

Yes. I 100% believe that a policy from management of a retail chain owned by PE would say “charge the till price not the sticker price”, and also separately “our policy is to ensure all prices are consistent by doing a price audit of every stickered item once per 6 months”. All that does is allegedly ensure they’re not ripping people off two days a year.