{"coverage_note":"Five categories were checked for lowes.com. Discrepancy_pricing found three independently corroborated issues: a settled $1 million California enforcement action over charging more than advertised prices at checkout, active class action lawsuits alleging fake reference/was-prices, and a separate class action alleging undisclosed $79 delivery fees on orders advertised as free. Discrepancy_availability found no qualifying findings \u2014 only anecdotal forum complaints about inventory mismatches consistent with disclosed real-time inventory limitations, with no regulatory or court-documented systematic pattern. Discrepancy_identity found a material two-tier merchant-of-record issue confirmed in Lowe's own Terms & Conditions: for Marketplace items, Lowe's is only a limited payments agent and the third-party seller is the legal counterparty, with distinct return and dispute procedures. Discrepancy_policy found no qualifying findings \u2014 anecdotal complaints about in-store no-receipt return enforcement were not corroborated by primary sources at a level meeting the inclusion threshold. Discrepancy_undisclosed_constraint found a February 2026 class action (Harmon v. Lowe's, W.D.N.C.) alleging concealed online price markups versus in-store pricing, corroborated by Lowe's own help pages confirming delivery fees are only revealed at checkout and that in-store prices differ from online prices.","human_handoff_required_for":[{"action":"Escalate to a human when the final invoice or order confirmation total exceeds the price displayed at the point of product selection due to an added delivery fee \u2014 specifically, when a $79 or similar delivery charge appears on an order that was advertised as free delivery during browsing or cart-building.","evidence":[{"description":"A class action lawsuit alleges Lowe's advertises free delivery online but then adds a $79 delivery fee on the final invoice after delivery, a charge not disclosed during the shopping experience.","reference":"https://www.classaction.org/news/lowes-hit-with-class-action-over-alleged-bait-and-switch-free-delivery-advertising"},{"description":"Lowe's own same-day delivery help page states 'The final price will be shown during checkout,' confirming delivery fees are not visible on product pages or during cart-building.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/help/same-day-delivery"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"},{"action":"Escalate to a human when an online price displayed during browsing is higher than the equivalent in-store price for the same item, or when checkout reveals a markup not visible on the product page \u2014 specifically in the context documented in Harmon v. Lowe's Home Centers LLC (Case No. 3:26-cv-00119, W.D.N.C.) alleging concealed online price premiums.","evidence":[{"description":"A February 2026 class action alleges Lowe's adds a hidden markup to online product prices not disclosed upfront, meaning the same item costs more on Lowes.com than in-store, with the difference concealed as a delivery-related surcharge.","reference":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69375460/harmon-v-lowes-home-centers-llc/"},{"description":"Lowe's order status page states 'Our local stores do not honor online pricing,' a constraint not surfaced during the product-browsing or cart-building experience.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/store/order-status"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"},{"action":"Escalate to a human when the checkout price for any item exceeds the lowest advertised or shelf price shown during product browsing \u2014 a pattern resulting in a $1 million California civil penalty and court injunction against Lowe's for charging more than the advertised price at checkout.","evidence":[{"description":"A California multi-county enforcement action resulted in a $1 million civil penalty settlement, restitution payments, and a court-ordered injunction after Lowe's was found to charge customers more than the lowest advertised or shelf price at checkout.","reference":"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-1-million-settlement-lowes-home-centers-over"},{"description":"Multiple active class action lawsuits allege Lowe's uses artificially inflated 'was' or reference prices that were never genuine market prices, creating a false impression of savings at checkout.","reference":"https://www.classaction.org/news/lowes-faces-class-action-over-alleged-fake-sale-prices"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"},{"action":"Escalate to a human before completing any purchase where the item is sold and fulfilled by a third-party Marketplace Seller rather than Lowe's directly \u2014 specifically when the user would need to rely on Lowe's standard return or dispute resolution process, because refund and chargeback rights differ materially for Marketplace items and the legal counterparty is the third-party seller, not Lowe's.","evidence":[{"description":"Lowe's Terms & Conditions confirm that for Marketplace Products, Lowe's acts only as a 'limited payments agent' of the third-party Marketplace Seller, meaning the seller \u2014 not Lowe's \u2014 is the legal merchant of record and dispute counterparty.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/about/terms-and-conditions-of-use"},{"description":"Lowe's help pages confirm that returns for third-party Marketplace items follow a distinct policy separate from Lowe's standard return terms, creating material differences in refund paths.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/help/returns-policy"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"},{"action":"Escalate to a human when a refund or return dispute arises on a Marketplace order where the third-party seller and Lowe's disagree on who holds payment responsibility or who must authorize the refund \u2014 since Lowe's collected payment only as a limited agent of the seller, not as the merchant of record.","evidence":[{"description":"Lowe's Terms & Conditions state Lowe's acts as a 'limited payments agent' of Marketplace Sellers, meaning the seller retains financial responsibility, creating ambiguity in disputes about who must issue refunds.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/about/terms-and-conditions-of-use"},{"description":"Lowe's help pages confirm separate return procedures for third-party-sold items, which can result in consumers being directed between Lowe's and the seller without clear resolution.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/help/returns-policy"}],"last_checked_date":"2026-06-30"}],"record_verification":{"last_checked_agentic_scan":"2026-06-30","last_checked_human_verified":null},"vendor_id":"lowes","verified_discrepancies":[{"actuals":"Two independently documented patterns of checkout price discrepancy have been found: (1) A California multi-county enforcement action resulted in a $1 million civil penalty settlement, restitution payments, and a court-ordered injunction after Lowe's was found to charge customers more than the lowest advertised or shelf price at checkout. (2) Multiple active class action lawsuits allege Lowe's uses artificially inflated 'reference' or 'was' prices that were never genuine market prices, creating a false impression of savings. A separate class action also alleges Lowe's advertises 'free delivery' online but then adds a $79 delivery fee on the final invoice after delivery.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"At least April 2021 (reference-price scheme per lawsuit allegations); delivery fee issue documented in related period. California enforcement pre-dates this.","evidence":[{"description":"Describes a California settlement in which Lowe's paid $1 million in civil penalties across six counties and was court-ordered not to charge more than the lowest advertised price, plus mandatory internal auditing and staff training changes.","reference":"https://mmrstrategy.com/lowes-pays-high-price-for-false-advertising/"},{"description":"Reports an active class action lawsuit (Washington state) alleging Lowe's uses inflated reference prices to manufacture the appearance of discounts, violating the Washington Consumer Protection Act; similar suits were filed in North Carolina in the same period.","reference":"https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/lowes-faces-another-lawsuit-over-allegedly-deceptive-discount-pricing-scheme/"},{"description":"Reports a class action alleging Lowe's advertises free delivery on online orders but adds an undisclosed $79 delivery fee to the final invoice after delivery is completed.","reference":"https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/lowes-hit-with-class-action-over-allegedly-deceptive-free-delivery-claims/"}],"interim_guidance":"When completing a Lowes.com transaction, an agent must not treat the displayed 'sale' or strike-through reference price as a verified genuine former price \u2014 it may be artificially inflated. More critically, the agent must check the final order confirmation or invoice total before considering the transaction complete: a delivery fee (documented at $79) may be added post-checkout even when the product page advertised free delivery. If the final invoice total differs from the price shown at the point of product selection, flag the discrepancy to the user before accepting the charge.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-30","status":"active","type":"pricing_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Lowes.com advertises products at discounted prices with strike-through 'was' or reference prices, implying consumers are receiving a genuine markdown from a prior higher price. The site also advertises 'free delivery' on eligible online orders at the point of search and product selection."},{"actuals":"Lowe's own Terms & Conditions confirm that for Marketplace items, the actual merchant of record is the third-party Marketplace Seller, not Lowe's. Lowe's collects payment only as a limited agent of that seller. This means that in a dispute, the legal counterparty is the Marketplace Seller, yet there is no prominent disclosure of this distinction at the point of purchase. Consumers and agents may assume Lowe's bears full liability, when refund and dispute resolution paths differ materially for Marketplace vs. first-party Lowe's items \u2014 including different return procedures for third-party-sold and shipped items.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"Unconfirmed; Lowe's Marketplace program has operated for several years and these terms appear to be longstanding","evidence":[{"description":"Lowe's Terms & Conditions explicitly state that Lowe's processes payment for Marketplace Products as a 'limited payments agent of the Marketplace Seller,' and that the Marketplace Seller \u2014 not Lowe's \u2014 is the true counterparty. The help page separately notes that returns of third-party seller items follow a different review policy.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/about/terms-and-conditions-of-use"},{"description":"Lowe's help/customer-service page confirms that items 'sold and shipped by a third-party seller' require consumers to follow a separate return policy, distinguishing these from standard Lowe's purchases.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/help"}],"interim_guidance":"Before completing any purchase on lowes.com, an agent must check whether the item is fulfilled and sold by Lowe's directly or by a third-party Marketplace Seller. If it is a Marketplace item, the agent should notify the user that: (1) the legal merchant of record is the third-party seller, not Lowe's; (2) dispute and refund rights follow a separate Marketplace return policy; and (3) any chargeback or escalation may need to be directed at the seller rather than Lowe's. Do not assume Lowe's standard return/refund terms apply to Marketplace purchases.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-30","status":"active","type":"identity_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Lowe's acts as a 'limited payments agent' of the Marketplace Seller when processing payments for third-party Marketplace Products, meaning payment to Lowe's satisfies the consumer's payment obligation to the Marketplace Seller \u2014 implying Lowe's is the transactional intermediary, not the merchant of record."},{"actuals":"A February 2026 class action (Harmon v. Lowe's Home Centers LLC, Case No. 3:26-cv-00119, W.D.N.C.) alleges that Lowe's adds a hidden markup to online product prices that is not disclosed upfront\u2014meaning the same item costs more on Lowes.com than in-store, with the difference concealed as a delivery-related surcharge. Separately, Lowe's own same-day delivery help page confirms that the delivery fee is calculated solely at checkout ('The final price will be shown during checkout'), with no indication of the fee visible on product pages or during cart-building. Lowe's order status page further states 'Our local stores do not honor online pricing,' a constraint not surfaced during the product-browsing or cart-building experience.","discrepancy_start_date_est":"January 2024 (when Lowe's reportedly began charging delivery fees that had previously been free); class action filed February 2026","evidence":[{"description":"Top Class Actions reported on a class action filed approximately February 2026 alleging Lowe's fails to disclose a hidden price markup on online orders and misrepresents delivery as 'free,' with plaintiffs reporting unexpected delivery fees of up to $79 added post-purchase.","reference":"https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/lowes-hit-with-class-action-over-allegedly-deceptive-free-delivery-claims/"},{"description":"Lowe's own same-day delivery help page states delivery fees are weight- and dimension-based and that 'The final price will be shown during checkout,' meaning the cost is not determinable before the checkout stage.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/l/help/same-day-delivery"},{"description":"Lowe's order status page discloses that local stores do not honor online pricing and that prices are subject to change without notice even after an order has been submitted.","reference":"https://www.lowes.com/mylowes/orders/checkorderstatus"}],"interim_guidance":"Before completing any delivery order on Lowes.com, an agent must proceed to the checkout screen and capture the final itemized total\u2014including all delivery and fulfillment fees\u2014before confirming the transaction. Do not treat the product page price as the final price. For same-day delivery in particular, the fee cannot be determined until checkout, so an agent must verify the total at that stage and confirm it is within the user's budget before placing the order. For BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store), note that in-store pricing may differ from the online price shown.","last_checked_date":"2026-06-30","status":"active","type":"undisclosed_constraint_discrepancy","vendor_claim":"Lowes.com advertises 'free delivery' on qualifying orders and presents same-day delivery as an available fulfillment option with fees described as based on 'shipping method and order weight.' Product pages display prices as if they represent the full cost of an online purchase."}]}