Crumbl Cookies is one of the fastest growing gourmet cookie companies in the United States. The company has opened hundreds of stores throughout the country, including several in Hawaii. If you’ve taken a liking to the average confection sold at Crumbl Cookies for approximately $4.00 a piece, you might be interested to know that two customers have claimed the company is secretly charging people more than the advertised price. In fact, they have filed a class action lawsuit to prove it.
The litigants who have brought a claim against Crumbl Cookies have stated that very sale, either in person, online or via the company’s cell phone app, includes a hidden service charge of 2.95%, of which the average patron may not be aware. The plaintiffs in the case say that if you buy Crumbl Cookies in person, you can only discover the hidden service charge after the transaction is completed, and if you review your receipt.
The class action lawsuit states that customers are being kept in the dark
The women who have opened the class action claim say that, at no time during an in-person sale, is the customer informed about the service fee. On an iPad or when using the cell phone app, the fee is kept hidden, unless the purchaser happens to click on a tiny gray question mark icon. If the icon is clicked, information regarding the service fee appears.
The Crumbl Cookies customers who have filed the legal claim say this is unfair because the average person does not know that they must click the question mark to learn about the money they are being charged for service. With the in-person sales, the information is only revealed on the written receipt. However, the litigants say this deprives consumers of being able to make informed decisions. If the company would let all customers know ahead of time that they are going to be charged a service fee, some people might then decide not to buy their cookies. As it stands, this information is reportedly being hidden, although the court will be the one to determine if that is true.
Junk fees take away your rights as a consumer
The term “junk fees” refers to fees being charged to consumers while they are unaware. You cannot exercise your rights to a fair purchase if you are paying extra money for a product without realizing it. The Federal Trade Commission oversees issues regarding a fair and competitive market. If you believe a company is upping your cost by adding hidden fees to a purchase, you can bring the matter to the court’s attention like the two women who have filed a class action lawsuit against Crumbl Cookies.