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NEW YORK — Home Depot will pay nearly $2 million to settle a civil enforcement claim from California district attorneys that the home improvement company was engaging in false advertising and unfair competition.
The complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court said that when people at Home Depot brought an item to checkout, they would be charged more money than was written on the shelf tag or on the item itself. Such violations are called "scanner violations," the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said in a press release Thursday.
While the company admitted no wrongdoing, it must pay $1.7 million in civil penalties, as well as $277,251 to cover investigation costs as well as to "support future enforcement of consumer protection laws."
The judgment ruled that Home Depot must implement a price accuracy program.
"False advertising and unfair competition are serious offenses that undermine consumer trust and distort the marketplace," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.
Home Depot has not responded to CNN's request for comment. The Los Angeles DA's office said the company was cooperative in the investigation.
The civil penalties are a drop in the bucket for the nation's fifth-largest retailer. In March, Home Depot announced it is buying SRS Distribution — a huge building-projects supplier that counts professional roofers, landscapers and pool contractors as its primary customers — for $18.3 billion.
