CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Over a dozen North Carolina stores, including several in the Charlotte area, were fined by the state for price-scanning errors that overcharged customers, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced.
In total, 18 stores in 12 counties were fined for the price-scanning problems. The state conducts periodic, unannounced inspections of price scanners and if a business has more than a 2% error rate for overcharges, inspectors discuss their findings and schedule a follow-up. If a store fails a follow-up inspection, penalties are assessed, including fines. The store will be subject to reinspection every 60 days until it meets the 2% threshold for overcharges, with each failed reinspection leading to higher fines.
“Our Standards Division remained diligent in its effort to protect consumers across our state in 2023,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said. “Inspectors continued to find significant numbers of price scanner errors at stores across the state, which serves as a reminder that consumers should check their receipts and notify store managers if they see an error.”
The biggest penalty in Mecklenburg County was paid by the Target in University City. The store paid $14,755 in penalties after failing seven inspections between September 2022 and September 2023. The store paid its fine in October and passed a follow-up inspection in November.
Two Family Dollar stores were also fined. The Family Dollar at 8500-C on Pineville-Matthews Road paid $7,995 in fines after failing five inspections. At one point, the store's overcharging rate was up to 6.67% based on 20 overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store still has an outstanding balance of $10,485 from failed inspections. The Family Dollar on Rozzelles Ferry Road paid $3,045 in penalties for failed inspections last July and August. A follow-up inspection found an overcharging rate of 8.67%. The store still owes more than $3,600 in outstanding fines.
A Family Dollar store in Norwood paid $14,790 in penalties for 10 failed inspections. The store still has a balance of $5,000. In Union County, a Family Dollar on Idlewild Road that failed four inspections paid $4,680 in penalties. The store, which is scheduled for a reinspection, still owes $6,905.
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