Home improvement retailer to pay $4.25M to 10 states in rebate settlement
Menards will pay $4.25 million to 10 states for falsely advertising rebates as immediate discounts.Summary
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced a $4.25 million multistate settlement with Menards, a Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer, due to deceptive rebate advertising practices. An investigation revealed that Menards misled consumers into believing they would receive instant discounts at the register, when in reality, the savings were provided as in-store merchandise credit later.
The investigation found that Menards advertised discounts like “11% OFF” suggesting an immediate price reduction, while prices already reflected the discount. They also failed to clearly explain the limitations of their rebate program and misrepresented “Rebates International” as a separate entity, despite it being operated by Menards.
As part of the settlement, Menards will revise its advertising practices, discontinue misleading ads, and clearly state the terms and conditions of rebates. They will also improve their online rebate submission and tracking processes. Ohio will receive approximately $365,173.05 from the settlement, which will go to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Enforcement Fund.
(Source：Yahoo! News)