Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has secured an agreement with Five Below resolving allegations that the retail chain’s scanners overcharged consumers at the register and that they failed to clearly display item prices.

In November 2025, Attorney General Nessel sent a “Notice of Intended Action” to Five Below for allegedly violating the Michigan Shopping Reform and Modernization Act and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act at nearly 20 stores in Michigan on 30 separate occasions.

Nessel said “Michigan consumers must be able to trust that the prices they see on the shelves match what they are actually being charged. This agreement holds Five Below to a high standard of accountability and ensures they take concrete steps to improve their business practices moving forward. My office will continue to work with MDARD to protect hardworking Michiganders and ensure our stores display accurate and transparent costs.”

MDARD Director Tim Boring commented “MDARD's weights and measures inspectors work diligently but effectively to protect Michigan consumers from unfair business practices. This settlement represents that work.”

From June 5th, 2025, through November 5th, 2025, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) issued numerous Shopping Reform and Modernization Act non-compliance findings at Five Below stores.

In many instances, MDARD documented items labeled as $5 that allegedly rang up as $6 or $7 at the register.

As part of the agreement, Five Below, which Nessel said was cooperative throughout the process, will implement and maintain policies and protocols intended to ensure ongoing pricing accuracy and compliance with Michigan law.

Those measures include dedicating additional staff hours to pricing accuracy, enhancing training on pricing, and establishing a procedure for internal pricing audits. The agreement also provides for quarterly pricing audits for one year by an independent auditor, and enhanced penalties for repeat pricing violations determined through MDARD investigations for the next three years.

Five Below will also pay the State of Michigan $179,500. Of this sum, $50,000 will be remitted to MDARD to cover investigation costs. The remaining balance will be used to fund the independent audits, with the remainder to be distributed to the Department of Attorney General.

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