Ordering food delivery through an app has become easier and more popular than ever over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, but paying an additional $10 or so in service fees can get annoying for customers.
It even feels like some services are charging more than restaurants for food items, and then tacking on a number of extra charges. That assumption could very well be true.
The District of Columbia is now suing the delivery platform Grubhub for alleged "deceptive trade practices", including excessive fees and false advertising, according to ABC News.
Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine announced the lawsuit in a tweet on Monday and said that Grubhub's practices "need to stop."
"NEW: We're suing Grubhub for misleading District residents and taking advantage of local restaurants to boost its own profits," Racine tweeted. "Grubhub charges hidden fees and uses bait-and-switch tactics, all while pretending to help local businesses during the pandemic. This needs to stop."
The lawsuit claims that Grubhub's deceptive tactics had a major impact on D.C. restaurants and customers.
"Grubhub engages in a bait-and-switch scheme by misrepresenting to consumers that the only fee that they would have to pay Grubhub for delivery is a 'Delivery fee,' while deceptively obscuring its 'Service fee' and 'Small order fee' (if applicable) by failing to disclose those fees until the end of the ordering process at the checkout page, after consumers have already invested their time in searching for a restaurant and selecting menu items that they want to order," according to court documents.
It went on to detail how restaurant prices and prices on Grubhub were often different, and the delivery service never disclosed that information to customers.
"Because Grubhub already charges consumers several different types of fees for its services, such as a 'Delivery fee' and a 'Service fee,' consumers expect that the menu prices listed on Grubhub are the same prices offered at the restaurant or on the restaurant’s website—an expectation Grubhub fails to correct through sufficient disclosures," according to court documents.
The lawsuit also said that Grubhub had more than 1,000 D.C. restaurants available for customers to choose from, but they "had no contractual relationship with Grubhub."
"We are disappointed they have moved forward with this lawsuit, because our practices have always complied with DC law, and in any event, many of the practices at issue have been discontinued," a Grubhub spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. "We will aggressively defend our business in court and look forward to continuing to serve DC restaurants and diners."
Racine tweeted an update on Wednesday, as TechCrunch reports that Grubhub is now going to "include a disclosure during checkout that prices may be lower in store."
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