DOLLAR Tree has promised a probe after a shopper fumed at mystery bag tax that felt like a “scam.”
The customer harnessed her confusion into blind rage as she took Dollar Tree to task on social media for the fee.
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The shopper sparked a discussion on X on Thursday after she revealed a mystery bag tax that charged her even though she brought her own.
She was shocked at the added cost, wondering if she was being punished for not buying a plastic bag in store.
She said in the post: “Hey @DollarTree why are you charging me for a bag and bag tax when I brought my own?
“And why are these fees the same price as if I bought a bag from you?”
The customer showed a picture of her receipt from her trip, charging her not only for her own bag but also taxing her on it.
The cost came out to 10 cents, 4 cents for the bag itself and 6 as a tax.
This is not a known standard practice from major retailers.
The shopper commented on the thread: “This feels like a hidden fee scam, and screams “class action lawsuit” if they’re doing this to everyone.”
While she did not receive anyone on the thread with the same bag fee experience, her shock discovery prompt another response from a shopper.
They added: “Dollar tree continually letting us down since the .25 cent increase.”
The original shopper then responded: “I’m curious – next time you go to one check your receipt and see if there is a no bag fee.
“I’m curious if they’re doing it everywhere or if it was just my store locally.”
It is not known what store this happened at.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE?
Dollar Tree did reply at the bottom of thread: “Hi – Thank you for reaching out!
“Please end us a DM with the exact address of the store and your contact information, so that we may have this matter addressed. Thank you!”
The interaction then becomes difficult to trace, as it is unclear if it even continued.
It could have done privately, but many other examples of this on social media, it is mainly unclear as to why this happened.
There is another recent example of someone sharing a similar sounding story, but with a key difference that only deepens the mystery.
Dollar Tree pricing
Despite the name of the store, Dollar Tree recently added items that cost more than $1 to its inventory.
Most items at the store cost no more than $1.25, but items in the Dollar Tree Plus section cost up to $5.
Dollar Tree introduced Plus aisles to 100 locations in 2019 as part of an effort to diversify its products.
By 2022, Dollar Tree had added the items to over 1,500 locations.
“We believe testing additional price points above $1 for Dollar Tree products will enable us over time to expand our assortments, introduce new products and meet more of our customers’ everyday needs,” president and CEO Michael Witynski said in a statement.
“Our brand promise is that customers get great value for what they spend at Dollar Tree. We will continue to be fiercely protective of that promise, regardless of the price point.”
On February 8, a shopper posted: “I went to dollar tree today and they asked if I wanted a plastic bag.
“The bag was 1cent but the bag tax was 9cents… is this where all our money is going to??”
This brings the overall cost of the plastic bag to 10 cents, the same as the first customer.
But she claimed that she was being charged for her own bag, while this account says that he bought a bag from Dollar Tree.
With growing concern around plastic bags and the damage they can cause to the environment, some companies might charge an extra fee for a plastic bag.
It is unclear if this is the same thing, and if so, why the first shopper said she was charged for her own bag.
The US Sun has reached out to Dollar Tree for comment and clarification on the seeming discrepancy.
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