The attorney general for the state of Michigan has taken legal action against The Home Depot (Atlanta) for failure to abide by Michigan's item pricing law at its 45 retail stores statewide. The retailer is charged with failing to place individual price tags or pricing information on as much as 55 percent of its shelf stock statewide.
Michigan's Pricing and Advertising of Consumer Items Act, commonly known as the “Item Pricing Act,” requires that “the total price of a consumer item … offered for sale at retail shall be clearly and conspicuously … affixed to the consumer item.” The Item Pricing Act falls under the jurisdiction of Michigan's Department of Agriculture.
In a survey of 14 Home Depot stores across the state, the attorney general's office found between 15 and 55 percent of all items offered for sale were not marked with individual price tags as required by law. The survey was conducted between June 2001 and January 2002 in conjunction with agents from the agriculture department.
“Every retailer doing business in this state — no matter how big, how small, or how far away it is headquartered — has the same obligation to obey Michigan law,” said attorney general Jennifer Granholm. “Without price tags on the items they purchase, consumers have no way of knowing whether the price they're being charged at the register is accurate. Mistakes at the checkout inevitably cost consumers extra money.”
This is the fourth time the attorney general has taken action against Home Depot for this violation. After similar charges in 1995 and 1996, Home Depot vowed to comply, first verbally, then in a formal legal document. Following the third such charge, in 1998, Home Depot agreed to a court order requiring it to immediately bring all of its Michigan locations into compliance with the law and pay a civil penalty of $250,000.
This time, the state says Home Depot has 10 days in which to respond to the allegations or face the potential of a further lawsuit. Michigan statute declares that knowingly violating the Item Pricing Act is punishable by civil fines of up to $5,000 for each violation. Violations of the Consumer Protection Act are punishable by civil fines of up to $25,000 per violation.