Home Depot charges NC man $1,100 for rental equipment that he had already returned
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Wake Forest man says he was charged more than $1,100 by Home Depot for rental equipment he had already returned.
This all started after Gordon Caviness rented an auger from Home Depot for a project at a relative's home. According to his receipt, he had the equipment for less than four hours.
"We finished, like, three hours easy. I was back at Home Depot, three hours and 45 minutes, 15 minutes early," Caviness said. The receipt shows Caviness was even given a $15.47 credit for returning the equipment early.
He says he didn't think about the rental again until he noticed a charge on his bank card.
"I saw a charge for $392 from Home Depot, and I'm like, it's got to be a mistake," he said. Caviness says he contacted Home Depot and was told the rental equipment had been returned, and the charge was an error.
"He said the computer started the charges and they called it a recovery fee," Caviness said. Caviness said he was then told a manager would correct the problem and that he would get his money back, but about a week later.
"Well, a week later that's when I saw a second thing at $392, and I was like, oh, got a problem," he said.
He returned to Home Depot again.
"She said I'm so sorry; we will have someone contact you; the manager will contact you. That never happened," Caviness said.
Instead, he says another $392 charge appeared the following week. After multiple charges, Caviness says he decided he needed help.
"I said, wait a minute, I said, let me go to the Troubleshooter."
By that point, he says he had been charged more than $1,100 for equipment he had already returned. ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson contacted Home Depot about the charges. Caviness says the response came quickly.
"The next day, lo and behold, they called me," he said. A Home Depot representative provided this statement: "After careful review, our team worked directly with the customer to resolve this issue and provide the customer with a refund. This is not the experience we want for any of our customers, and we are grateful for the opportunity to make this right."
Caviness says he got a full refund and he is satisfied with the outcome.
"Problem solved. So as soon as you contacted whoever, I don't know. They felt we'd better go and get it straight, and they did immediately," he said to Wilson.
