Home Depot class action claims advertises fake discounts

Home Depot class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Kevin Culbertson, Maria Gonzalez and Grace Condon filed a class action lawsuit against Home Depot U.S.A. Inc.
• Why: The plaintiffs claim that Home Depot advertises products with false discounts to mislead consumers into thinking they are getting a deal.
• Where: The Home Depot class action lawsuit was filed in Georgia federal court.

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.

Plaintiffs Kevin Culbertson, Maria Gonzalez and Grace Condon each claim they were enticed by Home Depot fake discounts and bought items they may not have otherwise purchased if not for the false reference pricing.

The Home Depot class action lawsuit explains “sale” prices are important to consumers seeking a bargain. Additionally, consumers are more likely to make a purchase if they believe a purported “sale” price will end soon.

The plaintiffs claim Home Depot exploits consumers’ desire for a bargain by listing false reference prices for products and purportedly offering them at a discounted price. However, Home Depot allegedly never sells some products at the listed reference price, meaning the “former” price and the “discount” are fake.

Plaintiffs: we were duped by Home Depot fake discounts

Culbertson says he searched the Home Depot website for a dryer, and found a model from General Electric advertised with a “former” price of $779, a price that was reduced to $528 when he placed it in his cart. When he made the purchase, he believed he received a 32% discount.

However, the Home Depot class action lawsuit says the retailer never sold the GE electric dryer for $779 in the prior three months. The price allegedly fluctuated between $498 and $548. Competitors also sold the same dryer for the same “discount” price.

“As this example illustrates, the artificially-created 32% ‘discount’ between the fake ‘former’ price and the purported ‘sale’ price misleads consumers into believing the product has a higher market value than it actually does” and induces them to purchase the product without realizing there was no “sale,” the Home Depot class action lawsuit says.

“In reality, the purported ‘sale’ price is essentially the same price consumers would have paid for the same item at Home Depot’s competitors during the same timeframe.”

The other plaintiffs describe similar experiences and claim they would not have purchased the item at the advertised “sale” price, or may have purchased the item from a competitor, had they known the reference price was false.

The Home Depot class action lawsuit asserts claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, violation of Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Another recent Home Depot fake discounts class action lawsuit alleges the company uses fake reference pricing to entice consumers to make more purchases.

What do you think about the Home Depot fake discounts allegations? Join the discussion in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Justin T. Holcombe, Kris Skaar, James M. Feagle and Cliff R. Dorsen of Skaar & Feagle LLP and Jonathan Shub and Samantha E. Holbrook of Shub & Johns LLC.

The Home Depot fake discounts class action lawsuit is Kevin Culbertson, et al. v. Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-02666-VMC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

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