Home Depot to pay nearly $2 million in settlement with prosecutors over alleged false advertising and unfair competition

Home Depot has won a stipulated judgment of nearly $2 million to settle a civil complaint that alleged the company engaged in false advertising and unfair competition practices, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said.

The complaint alleges that Home Depot routinely charges customers higher prices than advertised or displayed. This problem, where the price on an item or shelf tag does not match the price charged when scanned at the checkout counter, is called a “scanner violation,” prosecutors said last week.

Although Home Depot cooperated with the investigation, it did not admit any wrongdoing, prosecutors said.

Home Depot will pay $1.7 million in civil penalties, $177,251 in costs to cover the investigation and $100,000 to support future consumer protection law enforcement.

The stipulated judgment prohibits Home Depot from falsely advertising and charging more than the lowest listed price for an item. Home Depot will be required to implement and maintain a pricing accuracy program, which includes additional pricing and employee training and a ban on changing prices on weekends, when employees responsible for changing price tags are typically not working, according to Attorney Pamela Price’s office.

The judgment was filed in San Diego Superior Court as the Alameda County District Attorney’s Consumer Justice Bureau worked alongside district attorneys from Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Sonoma counties on the case. The investigation was initiated by the weights and measures departments of several counties.

Alameda County will receive more than $283,000 from the civil penalty payment and approximately $14,241 to reimburse the Alameda County Department of Agriculture and Weights and Measures for investigation costs.