For years, Menards turned its “11% off everything” rebate into a signature draw for bargain hunters. Now that marketing hook has triggered a multistate crackdown, with the retailer accused of luring shoppers into a confusing rebate maze and agreeing to pay $4.25 m to resolve allegations that the promotion misled customers. The settlement, worth a total of $4.25 million, forces the chain to overhaul how it advertises and administers the rebates that helped define its brand.
At the heart of the dispute is a simple claim with complicated fine print: that customers were getting 11% off their purchases when, according to state attorneys general, many never saw the savings at all. I see the case as a warning shot to every retailer that leans on mail-in rebates and store credits, especially when those offers are splashed across circulars and TV spots as if they were instant discounts.
The multistate case that turned a marketing staple into a legal liability
The legal fight coalesced when a coalition of attorneys general accused Menards of using its 11% rebate program to create the illusion of across-the-board discounts that did not materialize at the register. According to officials in Ohio and other states, Menards will pay $4.25 million to resolve claims that its “11% OFF EVERYTHING!” advertising overstated the savings and obscured the hurdles consumers had to clear to collect them, including mailing forms and waiting for store credit instead of cash. Ohio’s attorney general joined counterparts from Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin in the multistate deal, which also requires changes to how the company promotes its Rebate offers.
Illinois played a central role in the enforcement push. In Chicago, Attorney General Raoul announced a $4.25 m multistate settlement with the home improvement chain, saying the agreement was designed to ensure that Illinois consumers are treated fairly when they respond to Menards’ 11% rebate promotions. Under the terms of the settlement, Menards is required to make several changes to its advertising and sales practices, including clearer disclosures about how and when rebates are paid and whether they come as store credit or cash, according to Attorney General Raoul.
How the “11% off” rebate allegedly trapped shoppers
State investigators argued that the problem was not just the existence of a rebate, but the way Menards framed it as a straightforward price cut when it was anything but. The 11% promotion was typically advertised as if every item in the store were instantly discounted, yet customers had to complete paperwork, mail it in, and then wait for a store credit that could only be used on future purchases. In some cases, according to complaints summarized by regulators, shoppers said they never received the promised credit at all, or discovered that certain items were excluded despite the sweeping “everything” language that anchored the discount ads…