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Apr. 18—WADESBORO — Two Dollar General stores in Anson County have been fined by the state for excessive price-scanner errors.
The Dollar General at 1301 E. Caswell St., Wadesboro has paid $2,025 in fines and another location at 8049 U.S. Highway 74 has paid $2,625 in fines.
An initial inspection of the East Caswell Street in February found an 18% error rate based on nine overcharges in a 50-item lot, and a follow-up inspection in March found a 7% error rate based on 21 overcharges in a 300-item lot, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Standards Division.
For the HWY 74 location, an inspection in January found an 8% error rate based on four overcharges in a 50-item lot, and a follow-up inspection in February found an 8% error rate based on 24 overcharges in a 300-item lot.
Both stores will be re-inspected.
There are 23 stores in central North Carolina that have been fined for similar violations in the first quarter of 2022, and 42 total across the state. They include stores in Durham, Forsyth, Granville, Guilford, Moore, Johnston, Randolph, Stanly, Union, Vance and Wake counties.
"As many stores continue to suffer from staffing shortages due to the pandemic, our Standards Division has seen a significant increase in stores with price scanner errors," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler in a press release. "It is always a good practice for consumers to check their receipts as well as the price on the shelf to make sure that they are paying the correct amount."
The state conducts unannounced inspections of price-scanner systems in businesses to verify that the prices advertised and the prices that customers are charged for are the same. If a store has more than a 2% error rate on overcharges, inspectors discuss the findings with the store manager and conduct a more intensive follow-up inspection later, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Undercharges are also reported but do not count against a store. If you would like to file a complaint about scanner error, call the Standards Division at 984-236-4750.
The other stores fined are as follows:
(Durham) Dollar General at 4623 Hillsborough Road, Durham has paid $4,305 in fines.
(Forsyth) Family Dollar at 3501 South Main St., Winston-Salem has paid a total of $7,510 in fines.
(Granville) Dollar General at 108 Highway 15 N., Stovall has paid $2,985 in fines.
(Granville) Walmart at 105 Lewis St., Oxford has paid $6,425 in fines.
(Guilford) Walmart at 121 W. Elmsley Drive, Greensboro has paid $1,995 in fines.