Family Dollar Stores Slapped with $31,310 in Fines for Price Scanner Errors in North Carolina
State inspectors found several Family Dollar stores in North Carolina charging customers too much, leading to $31,310 in fines. These stores charged wrong prices up to 10% of the time during state inspections. In Indian Trail, a store at 7907 Idlewild Road got hit with the biggest fine: $15,000. Stores in Charlotte and Gastonia also couldn’t pass repeated checks.
“Scanner errors cost consumers money,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “With the holiday season approaching fast, our Standards Division remains vigilant in inspecting stores across the state to ensure consumers are not being taken advantage of.”
After failing two checks with 4.33% and 4% price errors, a Charlotte store on Sunset Road shelled out $8,070. This store finally passed during a December 2024 inspection. State officials slapped the West Franklin Boulevard location in Gastonia with $3,665 in fines. Incorrect prices showed up 10%, 8%, and 3.67% during three visits. They’ll get another check in 2025. The Central Avenue store in Charlotte got stuck with $4,575 in fines. Wrong prices popped up 4.67% and 4.33% of the time in two checks. They’re due for another inspection in 2025.
Surprise price checks happen regularly. Stores falling by more than 2% get dinged when items ring up cheaper than marked, inspectors notice but don’t count it against the store. These problems aren’t isolated cases. In 2023, officials fined 52 stores across 33 counties for scanner mistakes. Now they’re keeping tabs on stores in nine counties, from Alamance to Wake.
If you catch pricing errors while shopping, reach out to the Standards Division: at 984-236-4750.
