How to file a Home Depot Complaint

Home Depot is a home improvement retail corporation that sells a wide variety of tools, appliances, and services to consumers all over the country. 

This article covers many common complaint types that consumers bring against Home Depot, as well how to contact Home Depot customer service representatives, and how to sue Home Depot in small claims court. 

Types of Customer Complaints Against Home Depot‍

At the time of writing this article, Home Depot has faced 12,449 Better Business Bureau (BBB) customer complaints; there were also 2,371 customer reviews averaging out to 1.12/5 stars. Here are some of the common Home Depot customer complaints:

• Misleading product advertisement

• Missing portions of order

• Damaged products delivered

• Late or missing refund

• Failure to cover fault under warranty

• Bad installation on appliances

How to Reach Home Depot Customer Service

Before you escalate to the point of suing Home Depot in small claims court, you may want to take your Home Depot corporate complaints and contact Home Depot customer support and see if your issue can be resolved outside of court. 

Home Depot customer service number: 1(800) 466-3337

Other ways to reach Home Depot Customer service:

• Home Depot Facebook: @HomeDepot

• Home Depot Twitter: @HomeDepot

• Home Depot complaint line: 1-800-HOME-DEPOT

How to file a complaint with the BBB against Home Depot

What is the BBB?

The BBB, or Better Business Bureau, is a non-profit that serves as a middleman between businesses, such as Home Depot, and consumers when there is a conflict that needs resolution. Any Home Depot corporate office complaints or general Home Depot complaints are almost always eligible to submit in the Home Depot BBB.

How to submit your complaint against Home Depot

1. Go to the Better Business Bureau website.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the button “Start Your  Complaint.”

3. Go through the form and fill in all the information requested

What to expect once you submit your complaint to the BBB

• The BBB will forward your complaint to Home Depot within 2 business days.

• Home Depot's complaint department will be asked to respond within 14 days, and if a response is not received, a second request will be made.

• You will be notified of Home Depot’s response when the BBB receives it (or notified that they received no response).

• Complaints against Home Depot are usually closed within 30 business days.

How to Sue Home Depot in Small Claims Court

Send a demand letter to Home Depot

Before the issue is escalated to small claims court, it is usually recommended to send a demand letter as a last resort. This is particularly important given that in many states a demand letter is mandatory and the first step in the small claims lawsuit filing process. This letter can be mailed to Home Depot's headquarters.

Here are some common points you may want to consider including in your demand letter:

• How much money Home Depot owes you

• Why Home Depot owes you money

• How you calculated how much Home Depot owes you

• Be willing to give Home Depot 7-14 days for them to respond to your letter

After you have gone through with the demand letter process if you choose to, here is an overview of the the steps to sue Home Depot in small claims court:

Step 1: Prepare and File the Lawsuit 

Step 2: Notify Home Depot about the small claims lawsuit by serving them correctly 

Step 3: Prepare for your small claims hearing against Home Depot

Step 1: Prepare and file the lawsuit

• Prepare the lawsuit using the proper form, this is usually available for download on your local small claims court website.

• The court will want to know why you are suing Home Depot, how much are you suing Home Depot for, and finally how you calculated the amount you are suing Home Depot for.

• You will need to search for the correct legal name (legal entity name) Home Depot uses in your state on the Secretary of State website for your state. 

• File the lawsuit. There are several ways you can file the lawsuit (1) in person at your local small claims court, (2) by mail (3) electronically (not available in all courts), (4) by fax (not available in all courts).

Step 2: Notify Home Depot about the small claims lawsuit

• Once the court returns the filed lawsuit to you, the next step is to serve Home Depot (serving means to notify Home Depot that they have been sued).

• There are different rules on how to serve a company in each state so make sure you review the rules for serving that apply to you. In many states you will need to serve the “agent for service of process” that Home Depot selects in each state. This is usually a company or person that is authorized by Home Depot to receive lawsuit documents on its behalf. 

• To serve the small claims court lawsuit on Home Depot you most likely will have to serve their "Agent for Service of Process." This is a company that Home Depot has selected to receive lawsuits on their behalf. ‍

• Always make sure to confirm with the court if there are any additional filings you need to complete and file after you have served Home Depot. 

Step 3: Prepare your small claims hearing

• Prepare your statement for the judge. Be prepared to tell the judge why you are suing Home Depot.

•  Prepare your evidence. This is one of the most important steps to winning a small claims lawsuit! Evidence like screenshots, emails, and pictures, should be brought to the hearing (you should make a copy for yourself, the judge, and Home Depot).

Your evidence might include: 

• Emails with Home Depot representatives regarding your complaint. 

• Pictures of any damaged appliances or products

• Other similar complaints other Home Depot customers may have had.