7-Eleven and Circle K are charging customers more at the register than the prices posted on shelves, sale signs and gas pumps, according to a Guardian investigation that reviewed 153 shopper complaints across 17 states. In McAllen, Texas, 29-year-old Marco Cruz picked up a pack of beef and jalapeño cheese sticks at a Circle K priced at $3.99 on the shelf. At checkout it rang up at $4.19. When he asked the employee to fix it, he was refused. Cruz told The Guardian this same thing has happened to him at least five times at convenience stores over the past six months. The problem isn't isolated to one store or one state. Government price-accuracy inspections show it's widespread: Circle K failed 35% of inspections in Florida, 62% in North Carolina, and 82% in Columbus, Ohio, between 2023 and 2025. 7-Eleven failed 47% of inspections in Colorado and Utah, and 79% in Ontario County, New York. Roughly half of the 153 complaints reviewed by The Guardian involved food, drinks and merchandise. The other half involved gas pumps charging more than the price posted on the roadside sign. An Arizona inspection earlier this year found 12 of 25 products at a 7-Eleven rang up above their shelf price — including a pack of gum marked $3.99 that charged $4.99 at the register. 7-Eleven and Circle K have not responded to requests for comment. What Shoppers Can Do With prices already stretched thin for household budgets, a dollar here and there adds up fast. Consumers can protect themselves with a few simple steps: Watch the screen when your items scan and compare it to the shelf price before you pay. Speak up immediately if something doesn't match — it's easier to get it fixed before the transaction closes. Take a photo of advertised prices, especially sale signs, so you have proof if a dispute comes up. Report repeated problems to your local consumer-protection agency if the store won't correct it.
I've worked in retail for many years, everything from part-time goffer to owner/general manager, and changing prices is an important job, but it is just one job out of many. In our small stores we usually had just one person to wait on customers, stock the shelves and coolers, clean, take out the trash, raise and lower prices (including changing prices on the shelves, cooler doors, displays and the register), etc. If the price posted was lower than the price at the register, we always used the lower price and then took down the sign until we got things sorted out. Prices at 7-eleven and Circle K are changed automatically daily and the people at corporate headquarters expect the employees at the under-staffed stores to keep up. So, give a hard-working store clerk or manager a break, THEY are not over-charging you. Also, a store clerk or manager can't always over-ride the register and charge you a lower price... corporate calls that STEALING and it can cost them their job! Another thing, don't go into stores and ask to speak to the manager or owner, they are busy people and don't have time to talk to you about #1- Charitable donations for any cause or reason, that has to go through channels. #2- Questions about merchandise, those are usually best addressed to someone that works in that department. #3- Prices, the manager or owner usually doesn't have any control over prices. #4- Wanting last week's sale price cause the answer is always gonna be NO! #5- Asking about a job for someone else.
