Home Depot to pay nearly $2 million to settle suit alleging it overcharged shoppers

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

As described by prosecutors in six California counties that sued the world's largest home improvement retailer in San Diego Superior Court, "scanner violations" — when the price on an item or on the item’s shelf tag 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 about the settlement, Home Depot said, “To ensure consistency for our customers, we’ve 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 filing was made on Aug. 26.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, representing 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 cheat consumers but also gain an unjust advantage over businesses that operate ethically and transparently," he said.

The settlement includes $1.7 million to be divided among 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 in Sacramento County, and $50,000 each to an agricultural consumer watchdog nonprofit and to a trust fund for prosecution 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 price posted, hire an executive-level, internal price watchdog, assign price accuracy checks to a manager in each California store, and make records of price accuracy available to prosecutors.

"This settlement is a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated and underscores our commitment to safeguarding the rights of consumers in our community," Gascón said.

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.