CONSUMER ALERT: Auditor Stinziano Reminds Shoppers to be Vigilant After Area Stores Fail Price Check

Franklin County OH Auditor

November 1, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Monica Moran, (614) 378-2879

Monica.Moran@franklincountyohio.gov

 

Consumer Alert: Auditor Stinziano Reminds Shoppers to be Vigilant After Stores Fail Check

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano urged consumers to be vigilant after 8 of 10 area Dollar General stores failed a consumer inspection over the past two weeks.

In all cases, Weights and Measures inspectors found the scanned price was more expensive than the item was supposed to be. The following Dollar General locations failed inspection:

  • 5001 Chatterton Rd., Truro Township
  • 4868 W. Broad St., Prairie Township
  • 3864 E. Broad St., Whitehall
  • 618 Schrock Rd., Westerville
  • 3065 Broadway, Grove City
  • 5800 Green Point Dr., Groveport
  • 3170 Lambert Rd., Pleasant Township
  • 4471 Harrisburg Pike, Grove City

Among the examples of incorrect scanner prices, a Bic Click Shaver that was supposed to be $6 instead scanned for $6.50; Comfort Bay Shower Hooks that should be $2 instead scanned for $5; Hanes socks that should have been $10.25 instead scanned for $11; and Realtree Flip Flops that should be $10.50 instead scanned for $12.50.

“I want to remind consumers to be careful when shopping and make sure you’re getting what you pay for,” Auditor Stinziano said.  “The Auditor’s office will continue to be vigilant and out in the community checking scanners and gas pumps and protecting consumers.”

There have been instances of incorrect scanned prices at several other Dollar General stores across the country. In Butler County, Ohio, inspections this past October found all 20 Dollar General stores there failed inspection. In 2019, Dollar General settled a $1.75 million Consumer Protection Act case in Vermont for similar pricing inaccuracies.

All of the above stores that failed in Franklin County will be reinspected by Weights and Measures within 7 days. The Weights and Measures team are the front line of consumer protection for the Auditor's office, inspecting over 9,000 devices in Franklin County annually.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture, which oversees Weights and Measures for the state, has been notified of the failed inspections.

As part of a commitment to consumer Protections, Auditor Stinziano reminds anyone who suspects they have been a victim of fraud that they can call the Auditor’s office Fraud Hotline at (614) 525-SCAM.

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