CHARLOTTE — The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services fined 10 stores across nine counties for overcharging customers in 2025.
The penalties were issued by the department’s Standards Division after several shops failed unannounced follow-up inspections.
According to a release, the state conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of price-scanner systems to check for accuracy between the advertised prices and the prices that ring up at the register. If a store has more than a 2% error rate, they are flagged for another inspection. If the store fails again, they must pay penalties.
The stores that were fined include Family Dollar, Circle K, Rural King, Staples and Dollar General locations in several N.C. counties. In the Charlotte area, stores in Mecklenburg, Catawba, Lincoln, Richmond and Watauga counties were fined.
According to the state, these stores will be subject to reinspection every 60 days until it meets the 2%-or-less error rate. Otherwise, more penalties could be tacked on.
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