Arby's may claim to "have the meats," but a new lawsuit claims that the restaurant chain is engaging in "greedflation" by secretly offering less food for the same price, ripping off consumers who are unaware of the portion shrinkage.
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The suit, filed in Queens County Supreme Court, alleges that Arby's "deceptively continues to sell its fries and beverages in smaller sizes which are now substantially smaller than the old sizes."
According to the details of the lawsuit, Arby's re-sized its French fries so that the kids' size was now "small," the small became the "medium," and the medium became the "large."
The suit claims the fast-food giant similarly shrank drink sizes as well and did so "without any corresponding reduction in price... or disclosure to its customers."
Melissa Nelson, of Ridgewood, filed the lawsuit. While she acknowledged "historic increases in inflation" over the past five years, Nelson claims that she and others "came to rely on [Arby's] consistent sizes of beverages and fries to deliver a fixed amount of liquid and food, at relatively consistent prices over time, in their past purchases at Arby's" -- not the quietly "updated 'downsized' versions" that the restaurant serves today.
The lawsuit says Nelson and others weren't expecting to receive the smaller portion sizes and as a result "paid relatively more for proportionally smaller sizes" of drinks and fries than they would have, "had [they] known [they] were paying more but getting less."
According to the lawsuit, it's a glaring example of "greedflation" -- where a company raises prices beyond what is necessary to account for rising prices, selling what appears to be similar quantities or amounts of product to the public.
The complaint accuses Arby's of violating General Business Law, which is meant to protect consumers against unfair and deceptive practices. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, claiming Arby's customers have been misled into spending more money for less food.
"The increase in price may never be noticed by Arby's purchasers, who may be left only with a strange feeling, short of satiety, even though this was due to the subject downsizing," the suit says.
Arby's has not commented on the lawsuit.
This is not the first time the fast-food chain has faced legal action over portion sizes, as a previous lawsuit accused them of misrepresenting the size of sandwiches.
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