Many states offer discounts, rebates, and other incentives for the purchase of infrastructure improvements that encourage electric-car ownership.
Washington is one such state, providing tax breaks on charging stations and similar EV-related devices.
Unfortunately, Home Depot sales associates weren't aware of the program, which made charging station purchases exempt from sales tax -- or rather, they weren't telling customers about it.
The problem came to light when a Seattle-area farmer visited Home Depot to purchase a charging station. The store didn't have any in stock and directed him to order one online. (In fact, it appears that's the only way Home Depot sells the devices.)
When he received his bill, he saw that he'd been charged around $70 in sales tax.
Thankfully, he knew about the tax exemption, and called Home Depot to complain. The service rep explained that although Home Depot does collect tax on charging stations, it also runs a program to refund buyers for the amount they've paid in sales tax.
Problem was, Home Depot's online agents weren't doing a very good job of explaining that to shoppers--many of whom likely didn't even know about the tax exemption.
Now, Home Depot is working to track down everyone in Washington state who has bought one of its charging systems, to ensure they have the form to claim back their erroneous tax payment.
If you fit that bill, you can download a PDF to facilitate your reimbursement.
For the full story, watch the news broadcast embedded below -- chock full of local TV goodness.
[hat tip: Brian Henderson]
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