Overcharged at checkout? Price scanner laws by state and what to do
What to do when the register rings up higher than the shelf tag, where the law makes the store pay you extra, and what the Dollar General settlements mean. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
Not legal advice; laws change, check your state's page. Every rule below links to the state law or agency page we read, checked Oct 20, 2026. Links on this page are plain links to official sources, not affiliate links.
The shelf tag said one price and the register charged more. It happens more than you'd think. In a 2024 national survey run by weights and measures officials with NIST, 23% of 7,462 store inspections failed the price-accuracy standard, and 32% turned up at least one overcharge (NCWM survey). Here's what to do at the register, and which places make the store pay you more than the difference.
What to do when it rings up higher
- Before you pay: watch the screen as items scan. If something looks off, snap a photo of the shelf tag showing the item and the price.
- At the register: say it plainly: "This rang up higher than the shelf tag. Can you charge the tag price?" Many stores fix it on the spot.
- After you pay: keep the receipt. In Michigan you have 30 days to tell the store (Michigan AG). Take the receipt and your photo to the service desk.
- If the store says no: contact your state or county weights and measures office or consumer protection agency. NIST keeps a list of retail pricing laws by state (updated Sep 17, 2026).
Where the store owes you more than the difference
These are the places we found where the law requires more than a simple refund of the overcharge. Rules checked Oct 20, 2026.
| Where | What the law gives you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | The difference plus 10 times the difference, at least $1 and at most $5 | MCL 445.319 |
| Connecticut | One item free, up to $20 in value | C.G.S. §21a-79 and §21a-79b |
| Massachusetts (groceries) | First unit free if the lowest price is $10 or less; $10 off if it's more | M.G.L. c.94 §184C |
| Erie County, NY (waiver stores) | The error plus 10 times the error, at least $1 and at most $10 | Erie County Consumer Protection |
Michigan scanner law: the $5 bonus
Michigan's Shopping Reform and Modernization Act covers sales where a price is displayed, the sale goes through an automatic checkout system, and you get a receipt showing the item and the price charged. Within 30 days, tell the seller in person or in writing and include evidence, like your receipt. If the seller pays you the difference plus 10 times the difference (at least $1, no more than $5) within 2 days, that settles it. If it doesn't pay, the law lets you bring an action for your actual damages or $250, whichever is greater, plus up to $300 in attorney fees (MCL 445.319, MCL 445.322). The bonus rule doesn't apply when a seller overcharges on purpose (MCL 445.319(4)).
The math: the tag says $3.49 and you're charged $3.79. The difference is $0.30, and 10 times that is $3.00, so you'd get $3.30 back. On a $1.50 overcharge, 10 times would be $15, but the bonus caps at $5, so you'd get $6.50. Buy several of the same item and you get the difference on each one, but only one bonus.
Two details from the Michigan Attorney General's scanner law page: the sale has to be complete, so if the clerk fixes the price before you pay, there's no bonus. And you don't have to speak up before leaving the store, since you have 30 days.
Was it repealed? No. The 2011 act replaced Michigan's older Item Pricing Act, and its overcharge section is on the Legislature's site as current law (checked Oct 20, 2026).
Connecticut "get one free"
If a consumer commodity rings up higher than the posted or advertised price, Connecticut law says the store gives you one of that item at no cost, up to a value of $20, and must post a sign saying so. That includes produce weighed at the register. Alcohol and carbonated soft drink containers aren't covered. If the store fails to take a valid coupon, you get the coupon's value back instead, and if an out-of-date sale sign is still up, you pay the sign price (C.G.S. §21a-79(b)(7), §21a-79b). Section 21a-79b doesn't apply to stores with 1,500 square feet of retail space or less (it was 10,000 square feet before June 6, 2024).
Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection fact sheet says that when an item over $20 scans wrong, the shopper gets a $20 credit. Some older pages mention a seven-day sale condition. The current statute doesn't include one (checked Oct 20, 2026).
Massachusetts grocery rule
In Massachusetts food stores and food departments, groceries must ring up at the lowest displayed price. If they don't, you don't pay for one unit when the lowest price is $10 or less, or you get $10 off one unit when it's more. Extra units are charged the lowest price. The rule doesn't apply to willful tampering or to a "gross error," meaning the lowest price is less than half the checkout price and the store didn't plan to sell at that price in the previous 30 days (M.G.L. c.94 §184C(i)). The state's Division of Standards says groceries include food and non-alcoholic drinks, pet food and supplies, paper and plastic disposables, soap, household cleaners, laundry products and light bulbs (mass.gov).
Erie County, NY "Super Refund"
Erie County says stores granted a waiver from item pricing must pay a "super refund" when a pricing error happens: 10 times the error, at least $1 and no more than $10, plus the error itself. The store must fill out the county's Price Discrepancy Report and give you a copy. Waiver stores have a sign posted at the entrance (Erie County Consumer Protection, checked Oct 20, 2026).
Places that require the lower price, without a bonus
- New York (statewide): stores must charge the "retail price," defined as the lowest advertised, written, posted or marked price, and must post their overcharge refund policy where you can see it (Agriculture and Markets Law §197-b).
- Wisconsin: stores that use scanners must refund the difference when you're charged more than the posted or advertised price, and post a sign saying so (Wisconsin DATCP).
Other states have their own rules, and some have none specific to scanners. Start with NIST's state-by-state list and your state's weights and measures office.
How stores get inspected: the 98% rule
Inspectors use NIST Handbook 130's Examination Procedure for Price Verification. A store fails when more than 2% of the prices checked don't match what the register charges. NIST says the procedure is an inspection method, not a law, and the 2% figure "must not be interpreted to mean that any error is 'acceptable'" (NIST price verification FAQs). New York writes the 98% standard into its law (§197-b).
In the 2024 national survey, 77% of inspections passed and 23% failed. Convenience stores passed 66% of the time and dollar and discount stores 71%. The report says that when all errors are counted, no store type has better than a 90% compliance rate (NCWM 2024 National Price Verification Survey).
The Dollar General settlements: what they mean for you
New York, October 2026
On Oct 15, 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with Dollar General (NY AG release). Her office's secret shoppers visited 11 stores in Western New York and were overcharged on about 14% of the items they bought (16 of 114). A review of more than 900 weights and measures inspection reports found that 43% documented price-accuracy failures above 2% in 2021 to 2023. Dollar General will donate $1.875 million in food and personal-care items to Foodlink, a Rochester food bank, as a civil penalty. It also agreed to honor the lowest price, keep shelf tags updated, train staff, post signs about its lowest-price policy, clarify receipts, and pay for independent pricing audits (settlement agreement). Dollar General neither admitted nor denied the findings.
Is there a Dollar General settlement claim form?
No. None of the settlements in New York, Pennsylvania or Ohio sets up refunds or a claim process for individual shoppers. The money goes to food donations, food banks or the state. If a Dollar General rang you up higher than the tag, ask the store to charge the lowest price, keep your receipt, and report it to your state or county weights and measures office or attorney general if it isn't fixed.
Earlier actions in Pennsylvania and Ohio
- Pennsylvania: under an agreement with the Attorney General, Dollar General paid $1.55 million to the state ($1.43 million in penalties and $120,000 in investigation costs) and agreed to honor the lowest advertised price, with audits through its 2027 fiscal year (PA agreement).
- Ohio: in November 2023, Attorney General Dave Yost announced that most of a $1 million Dollar General settlement, $750,000, would go to food banks or other hunger-relief organizations in all 88 of the state's counties. Stores must adjust to the shelf-tag price and fix the tag within 24 hours (Ohio AG release).
Store scan guarantees
Some grocers promise more than the law requires. We only list a policy if the store publishes it on its own site.
- Publix: "if during checkout, the scanned price of an item (excluding alcohol and tobacco products) exceeds the shelf price or advertised price, we will give the customer one of that item free. We will charge the lower price for the remaining items" (Publix Promise, checked Oct 20, 2026).
Shopping somewhere else? Ask the service desk whether the store has a written scan or price-accuracy policy. For prices that drop after you buy, see our price match policies guide. For online pricing mistakes, read do stores have to honor price errors? and what a price error is. Surprised by a fee on a restaurant bill instead? See our guide to automatic gratuity and service charge rules.
Sources (checked Oct 20, 2026)
- Michigan: MCL 445.319, MCL 445.322, Attorney General scanner law page
- Connecticut: General Statutes ch. 417 (§21a-79, §21a-79b), DCP "Get One Free" fact sheet
- Massachusetts: G.L. c.94 §184C, Division of Standards
- New York: Agriculture and Markets Law §197-b, Erie County Consumer Protection
- Wisconsin: DATCP price refund fact sheet
- National: NIST price verification FAQs, NIST retail pricing laws by state, NCWM 2024 survey
- Dollar General: NY AG release, NY settlement agreement, PA agreement, Ohio AG release
- Store policy: Publix Promise
Quick answers
Does a store have to honor the shelf price?
It depends on your state. New York law requires stores to charge the lowest advertised, posted or marked price (Agriculture and Markets Law 197-b), Wisconsin requires a refund of the difference, and Michigan, Connecticut and Massachusetts give extra compensation. Check your state's page. Not legal advice; laws change, check your state's page.
How much do I get under Michigan's scanner law?
The difference plus 10 times the difference, at least $1 and at most $5, if you notify the seller within 30 days with evidence such as your receipt. If the seller doesn't pay within 2 days, Michigan law (MCL 445.319 and 445.322) lets you bring an action for actual damages or $250, whichever is greater. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
Is Michigan's scanner law still in effect?
Yes. The Shopping Reform and Modernization Act took effect Sept. 1, 2011 and replaced the older Item Pricing Act. Its overcharge section, MCL 445.319, is listed as current law on the Michigan Legislature's site (checked Oct 20, 2026).
What is Connecticut's get-one-free law?
If a consumer commodity rings up higher than the posted or advertised price, the store must give you one free, up to a value of $20 (C.G.S. 21a-79 and 21a-79b). Alcohol and carbonated soft drink containers are excluded, and stores with 1,500 square feet of retail space or less are exempt from 21a-79b. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
What does Massachusetts give you for a grocery overcharge?
If a grocery item rings up above the lowest displayed price, the first unit is free when that price is $10 or less, or $10 off when it's more (M.G.L. c.94 184C). Willful tampering and gross errors are excluded. Checked Oct 20, 2026.
Is there a Dollar General settlement claim form?
No. None of the settlements in New York, Pennsylvania or Ohio sets up refunds or a claim process for individual shoppers. New York's October 2026 settlement is a $1.875 million donation of food and personal-care items to Foodlink plus pricing reforms.
How often do registers ring up the wrong price?
In the 2024 National Price Verification Survey, run by weights and measures officials with NIST, 23% of 7,462 store inspections failed the 98% accuracy standard and 32% found at least one overcharge.
Who do I report an overcharge to?
Your state or county weights and measures office or consumer protection agency, such as the Michigan Attorney General, Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection or the Massachusetts Division of Standards. NIST keeps a list of retail pricing laws by state.