EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Eau Claire-based home improvement retail chain Menards has agreed to pay fines totaling $4.3 million for cheating customers with its heavily advertised 11% rebates. The fines were announced by Wisconsin’s attorney general, Josh Kaul. He said Menards misled customers in several ways. For one, the chain posted post-prices bt charged higher pre-rebate price as they checked out. Also: Rebates required a complex mail-in process. Too: Although Menards advertised that everything qualified as 11% off, there were exclusions: Gift cards, event tickets, and propane deliveries and rentals. Two Wisconsin locations, in Onalaska and Johnson Creek, had price-gouged on bottled water despite a CoVid pandemic prohibition, Kaul said.
Verbatim
Kaul: “Whether you’re a big business or a small shop, ensuring that you are providing accurate representations to your customers is critical. People shouldn’t have to go through an adventure to figure out how much they have to pay for items that they’re purchasing.”
Multi-state claim
The settlement was led by attorneys general from Arizona, Illinois, Iowa. Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin Menards is the third largest U.S. home improvement chain after Lowe’s and Home Depot WIth 341 stores.