Menards will pay Minnesota and nine other states millions to settle claims the company used deceptive advertising to promote its longstanding 11% rebate program.
The $4.25 million payout announced Wednesday follows an investigation by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and officials from several other states.
Minnesota will receive $632,000 from the settlement, which also stipulates Menards shoppers now have a year to submit their 11% rebate forms.
Shoppers receive store credit from the mail-in rebate program. Ellison and officials from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin said disclaimers about the rebate “were in small print” and “wrongly implied that customers could realize savings at the time of purchase,” according to a news release.
“An ad that says ‘11% OFF EVERYTHING’ clearly implies that you can buy goods at an 11% discount, not that you can participate in a limited rebate program or get in-store credit for future purchases,” Ellison said in a news release.
The settlement dictates Menards must now offer clear disclosures about limitations to its rebate program.
Minnesota and other states also claimed Menards engaged in price-gouging for items like rubbing alcohol, dish soap and neoprene gloves during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is disappointing that Menards took advantage of the fear and uncertainty during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to jack up prices on consumers, so we are holding them accountable for that as well,” Ellison said in a statement.
