Our first runner-up shows you can create your own problems. It is a DIY company that did it by itself.  

Analysts put the U.S. do it yourself market is nearly $1 trillion. And one of the biggest players in that market is The Home Depot. So why would such a well-placed company run the risk to its reputation by engaging in a scheme to overcharge its customers?  We’ll never know because even though the company paid $2 million to settle charges brought by a set of California attorneys general, they admit nothing.

Here is how the scheme worked.

According to the local ABC-TV news, “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.

With market share near a trillion, it might not seem much of a penalty to agree to pay $2 million, but why plant a seed of doubt about business practices in the minds of your customers? The Home Depot is a big player but it is not the only player. If one thinks twice about going into that store, you could easily (and as comfortably) head into a Loews or Tractor Supply or any of a hundred smaller, local players.

Of course, the California outpost of the company does seem to have a bit of a track record when it comes to settling unsettling charges. It was just a year ago Home Depot paid more than $70 million to settle a class action law suit filed in 2016.

Here is how it was reported at the time. “(T)he lead plaintiff alleged that Home Depot failed to pay him and other hourly, non-exempt workers in California for work performed off the clock including after the store was closed to customers, failed to pay for all on the clock work because of Home Depot’s time rounding policy, and failed to provide accurate wage statements.” Oops.