Home Depot will pay nearly $2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it overcharged shoppers

SAN DIEGO – The Home Depot has agreed to a nearly $2 million settlement in a case that claimed it overcharged customers, charging more for items at checkout than the items’ advertised price.

As described by the prosecutors in six California counties who sued the largest home improvement retailer in San Diego Superior Court, “scanner violations” – when the price on an item or on the label of the item is not the same once the barcode is scanned during checkout. – resulted in higher prices for customers.

In an emailed statement responding to a request for comment on the settlement, Home Depot said: “To ensure consistency for our customers, we have updated the timing of our price changes.”

The settlement, which does not include any admission of wrongdoing, was announced last week and approved by Judge Richard S. Whitney; the file was made on August 26.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who represents his office as a lead plaintiff, suggested in a statement last week that the price discrepancies were not an oversight.

“When companies engage in deceptive practices, they not only mislead consumers, but also gain an unfair advantage over companies that operate ethically and transparently,” he said.

The settlement includes $1.7 million to be split between the district attorneys’ offices of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Alameda, San Bernardino and Sonoma counties for consumer law enforcement.

Also included, according to the filing: $177,251.28 for consumer regulators in those counties, as well as Sacramento County, and $50,000 each to an agricultural consumer watchdog nonprofit and a prosecution trust fund of those who rip off consumers.

Under the agreement, which covers Home Depot’s California stores, the company is ordered to always use the lowest published price, hire an executive-level internal price watchdog, assign price accuracy controls to a manager in any California store, and make price records. accuracy available to prosecutors.

“This agreement is a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated and underlines our commitment to safeguard the rights of consumers in our community,” said Gascón.

Home Depot, based in Atlanta, reported in a proxy statement in May that it earned nearly $22 billion in operating profit for the 2023 fiscal year.