TOMS RIVER — Dollar General has agreed to pay Ocean County $25,000 and post its return and refund policies at every cash register under a settlement with the county Department of Consumer Affairs, county officials said Tuesday.

The agreement, which covers all 20 Dollar General stores in the county, followed investigations by the county's Office of Consumer Protection and its Division of Weights & Measures into pricing accuracy and how retailers disclose return and refund policies, according to Ronald Heinzman, the department's director.

Under the terms, Dollar General will comply with state consumer affairs and weights and measures laws, display its return and refund policies clearly at all registers and resolve local pricing concerns, Heinzman said. District managers and other company employees will also be required to attend education meetings run by the county department.

The settlement follows an earlier consent agreement with Dollar Tree Stores Inc., reached after county investigators visited all 21 of that chain's Ocean County locations, officials said. Dollar Tree agreed to pay the county $21,000 and cover associated attorney's fees to resolve issues involving pricing and return policies.

Neither company went to court; Heinzman said both chains responded promptly to the county's concerns, which kept each matter out of litigation.

The county did not say how many pricing errors investigators found or at which stores.

Heinzman said consumers who suspect pricing discrepancies or unfair retail practices can report them to the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs at 732-929-2105.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency’s press release and published by The New Jersey Tide. Why we use AI for stories like this one.