Class Action Lawsuit Claims Home Depot Overcharges Tool Rental Customers for Late Fees, ‘Damage Protection’

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Home Depot of violating the terms of its own tool rental contracts by systematically overcharging customers for late fees and “damage protection” coverage.

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Specifically, the 19-page lawsuit relays that a previous iteration of Home Depot’s tool rental contract, used between December 2015 and March 2019, stipulated that customers who retain tools beyond the rental period will be assessed an additional fee on a “weekly, recurring basis.”

However, contrary to the contractual terms, Home Depot does not assess this fee on a weekly basis, but rather bills a customer one quarter of the “weekly recurring charge” for each of the first four days a tool is late, the suit claims. Per the case, Home Depot then charges no late fees on the subsequent three days until it again assesses one quarter of the “weekly recurring charge” for each of the four days that follow thereafter.

Home Depot repeats this seven-day cycle until the tool is returned, the complaint alleges. The filing contends that this practice violates the terms of the retailer’s rental contract and results in customers being charged excessive late fees.

The lawsuit goes on to allege that Home Depot also overcharges consumers who purchase damage protection coverage and then proceed to keep a tool longer than the stipulated rental period.

According to the suit, a customer can buy this coverage for an added payment of 10 percent of the rental price. However, the case contests that should a customer retain the tool beyond the rental period, Home Depot will charge them an amount equal to 10 percent of the rental price, plus an additional 10 percent of the aforementioned late fees.

The complaint claims this practice violates the rental contract terms because consumers are not informed that the damage protection charge may also include 10 percent of any late fees they are assessed.

The filing notes that although Home Depot has used a new rental contract since December 2022—which, per the lawsuit, has seen the damage protection charge increase to 15 percent of the rental price—the company has continued the same policy, in alleged violation of its contract terms.

Moreover, the suit adds that both iterations of the rental contract contain a provision that requires customers to notify Home Depot in writing of any disputed charges within a certain number of days after receipt of the agreement or invoice, or otherwise they waive their right to dispute the fees.

As the case tells it, consumers are neither informed of this provision nor given a copy of the contract until after they have paid for their tool rental. Therefore, customers have “no way of knowing” about Home Depot’s fine-print policy, the complaint argues.

The Home Depot tool rental lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, rented tools from the company by executing the contract used from 2015 to 2019 and was charged additional rental fees in an amount greater than the “weekly recurring charge” stipulated in the agreement’s terms and conditions multiplied by each full seven-day period the tool was late.

The suit also seeks to cover any Home Depot customers in the United States who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, rented tools using the 2015-2019 contract, purchased damage protection coverage, and were charged more than 10 percent of the rental subtotal price identified in the agreement.

In addition, the case looks to cover those who entered into the contract used since 2022, purchased damage protection coverage and were charged more than 15 percent of the represented rental subtotal price.

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