CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Four Charlotte Family Dollar stores were among 14 North Carolina businesses fined by the state for price scanning errors that overcharged customers, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced on Tuesday.
Businesses in Alamance, Forsyth, Hertford, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Wake, Wilkes and Union counties were fined during the first quarter inspections, with agriculture commissioner Steve Troxler saying many of the stores fined already failed numerous inspections.
“Overcharges cost consumers so we remain vigilant in inspecting stores to save people money," Troxler said in a news release. "Remember it is always a good practice to check your receipt as well as the price on the shelf to make sure you are paying the correct amount and alert managers if the prices don’t match.”
Stores that fail an inspection are scheduled a follow-up. If the store fails that check, penalties are assessed, plus those stores are subject to reinspection every 60 days until meeting a 2% or less error rate on random price checks.
Charlotte-area stores fined for price errors
Family Dollar at 8500-C Pineville-Matthews Road was find $23,480 for seven failed inspections. An initial inspection in December 2022 found a 14% error rate in a 50-item lot. The store failed six follow-up inspections with error rates as high as 18.33%, officials found. The store passed inspection in March.
Family Dollar at 4005 Sunset Road paid $2,610 for failures. The initial inspection in October found an error rate of 7% based on a 100-item check. The store failed numerous follow-ups and will be fined an additional $10,000 based on error rates of 19.3% and 12.3% in 300-item lots.
Family Dollar at 4130 Rozzelles Ferry Road paid $11,055 in penalties for four failed inspections. An initial inspection in July found a 12% inspection rate. The store finally passed inspection in March after multiple follow-ups.
Family Dollar at 2716 West Sugar Creek Road paid $7,680 for four failed inspections. The initial inspection last July found an error rate of 21%. The store failed three follow-ups before reaching compliance in February.
The Family Dollar at 7907 Idlewild Road in Union County paid $14,430 in penalties for six failed inspections stemming from an initial failure in March 2023. The store was last inspected in February and assessed a $4,420 penalty for a 5.67% error rate in a 300-item check.
Consumers who would like to file a complaint about pricing errors can call 984-236-4750.
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