Dollar General, Dollar Tree fined for selling expired products

Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General and Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree must pay $1.2 million worth of fines, ordered by the New York attorney general, for selling expired drugs within their New York store locations.

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, stated that both chains, including Dollar Tree-owned Family Dollar, stocked and sold expired over-the-counter medications, while Dollar General was also fined for selling private label motor oil unsuitable for modern cars. Dollar Tree also violated New York’s bottle deposit law, law enforcement officials said, according to CNBC.

“It’s a tough pill for New Yorkers to swallow that the over-the-counter drugs they were buying may have been expired,” James said in a statement, reported by CNBC. “New York consumers have a right to expect that products on store shelves are safe, fresh and suitable for their advertised use. These settlements will ensure that Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar will not only pay both a substantial fine and damages but, more importantly, update their business practices to comply with the law so that no expired over-the-counter drugs are sold to a New York consumer again.”

To read the CNBC article, click here.