Fast-food chicken chain Chick-fil-A has reportedly agreed to pay customers $4.4 million in rebates or gift cards to settle a class action suit filed after it lowered delivery fees but up-charged the food being delivered without letting users know.
Chick-fil-A did not admit guilt in the case but will create a $1.45 million cash fund and $2.95 million gift card fund for consumers, according to closely followed site Top Class Actions.
The suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia alleged the restaurant had been “deceptive and untruthful” in promising free or low-priced deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic of orders via the Chick-fil-A app and website. The chain, whose Christian-faith roots are as ubiquitous to its name as its popular chicken recipes, did not make clear to users that the items in those deliveries were subjected to higher prices. Price hikes reached as much as 30% more in some cases than if purchased in a restaurant.
The company “secretly raised its menu prices on delivery orders only in order to cover the costs of delivery and profit — without once disclosing the manipulation to customers,” the suit alleged.
Consumers who believe they were overcharged can check the Top Class site.
An unspecified number of customers are expected to get either $29.25 in cash or a $29.25 gift card from Chick-fil-A as part of the settlement. But if the settlement fund is not large enough to cover all claims, proportionate payments will be made, the site adds.
Chick-fil-A agreed to give the settlement administrator the email addresses needed to inform class members.
Going forward, Chick-fil-A has agreed to put disclosures on its app and ordering site stating that prices on menu items may be higher for delivery orders than store prices, according to the settlement reported on the claims site.