COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio, along with nine other states, has reached a $4.25 settlement with home improvement retailer Menards over deceptive rebate advertising.

According to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, advertising suggested the message of "11% off" or "11% off everything" was conveyed in a way suggesting customers would save 11% on their purchases at the register.

In reality, the store was advertising savings that came later in the form of in-store merchandise credit.

"Fine print shouldn't cancel out big promises. If a deal isn't an immediate discount, companies need to say that plainly so consumers can make informed choices," said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Ohio will receive $365,173.05 from the settlement, which will go to the Ohio Attorney General's Consumer Protection Enforcement Fund.

As part of the settlement, Menards agreed to discontinue its current advertising strategy in favor of one that clearly explains the rules, limits and conditions of its rebate program.

Menards also agreed to research ways for customers to use rebates on online purchases, give customers at least one year from the purchase date to submit a rebate, update its online rebate tracker within 48 hours of a rebate entry into the system and provide more clear and reliable status updates, including how returns may affect a rebate.