Home Depot overcharges customers for rentals class action claims

Home Depot rentals class action overview: 

• Who: A Pennsylvania building company is suing Home Depot.
• Why: The company says Home Depot overcharged customers renting its tools with late fees and Damage Protection.
• Where: The Home Depot rentals class action lawsuit was filed in a Georgia federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges that Home Depot systematically overcharged customers using its tool rental service.

E&G Enterprise Inc. filed the class action lawsuit against Home Depot USA Inc. on July 8 in a Georgia federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumers laws. 

According to the lawsuit, Home Depot collects millions of dollars annually from its tool rental program. 

However, the plaintiff claims a portion of that revenue is made through its practices of “systematically overcharging customers for late fees they did not incur” and “overcharging customers for Damage Protection.” 

Allegations of overcharging under the 2015 contract

The lawsuit focuses on two time periods and two different contracts: Dec. 17, 2015, through March 17, 2019, and Dec. 9, 2022, through to now. During these periods, Home Depot used two different “form” contracts, which E&G argues were designed to exploit consumers.

The lawsuit alleges that Home Depot’s corporate policies for employees carrying out the 2015 contract terms were designed to take advantage of consumers. 

First, E&G says Home Depot allegedly overcharged consumers who kept their tools longer than the rental period by charging excessive late fees. 

According to the 2015 Contract, customers were meant to incur additional rental fees on a “weekly, recurring basis” if the equipment was not brought back in time. However, Home Depot allegedly charged one-quarter of the weekly recurring charge for each of the first four days a tool was late, then no late fees for the next three days, repeating this cycle until the tool was returned. 

“This policy and practice overcharges consumers,” the lawsuit says, breaches the contract because it starts charging the fee after four days, not a week. 

Home Depot also allegedly overcharged consumers who purchased Damage Protection and kept their tools beyond the rental period. The 2015 contract said Damage Protection would cost 10% of the rental price. However, the lawsuit claims Home Depot charges an additional 10% of the late fees, which allegedly violates the contract.

Practices continue under the current contract, the lawsuit alleges

The lawsuit says that since Dec. 9, 2022, Home Depot has used a different “form” contract for all its tool rentals. 

The new contract increased the charge for Damage Protection to 15% of the rental price. 

Despite this change, the lawsuit alleges Home Depot continues to charge the Damage Protection surcharge on both the rental price and additional rental fees, thus violating the contract.

E&G is seeking to represent all Home Depot customers nationwide who rented tools from the company and were financially impacted by the allegations in the lawsuit. It is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs, and a jury trial. 

Meanwhile, a new Home Depot class action lawsuit alleges the retailer uses fake reference pricing to dupe consumers into thinking prices are advertised at a discount. The plaintiffs each say they were enticed by Home Depot’s fake discounts and bought items they may not have otherwise purchased if not for the false reference pricing. 

Are you affected by this Home Depot tool rental lawsuit? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Bayuk Pratt LLC, The Lockett Law Firm LLC and Cross Kincaid LLC.

The Home Depot tools class action is E&G Enterprise Inc. v. Home Depot USA Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-03020-ELR  in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. 

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