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Instacart Misleading Prices and Fees Canadian Class Action
CONSUMER LAW GROUP is investigating a class action lawsuit on behalf of Canadian consumers against the designer, developer, and operator of grocery shopping and delivery platform Instacart, namely, Maplebear Inc. and its Canadian subsidiaries Maplebear Canada Inc., Maplebear Delivery Canada Inc., and Maplebear Logistics Canada Inc.
The proposed class action alleges that Maplebear violated applicable consumer protection legislation and unjustly enriched itself by failing to disclose the all-in pricing of purchases made by consumers on the Instacart.ca website and on the Instacart mobile application, and by charging delivery fees, service fees, purchase prices and/or other fees higher than what is initially represented or indicated to consumers when completing transactions on the website and app.
The process of completing transactions on the Instacart website and application consists of five stages. The first involves the consumer selecting the retailer from which they wish to arrange a delivery, and the second consists of the consumer selecting the items they wish to have delivered from that retailer. The third stage displays a list of all items selected by the consumer and the total price consisting of the addition of the price of each item. The fourth stage involves the consumer providing delivery instructions, including their address and their payment information. At this stage, the total price is updated to include applicable taxes, namely, the HST or the GST and PST, depending on the province or territory. Instacart delivery fees and Instacart service fees are also displayed for the first time at the fourth stage. At the fifth stage, consumers can add an optional tip amount for the delivery person and can then submit the order. In essence by only displaying the price of the order at the fourth stage, Maplebear charges a higher price than that advertised and displayed at the first stage of the transaction (excluding applicable taxes).
As well, at the fourth stage of the transaction, Instacart enables customers to choose the speed at which the delivery will take place and the associated delivery fees for each option. “Priority” delivery is defined as being between 30-56 minutes and involves a delivery fee of $9 in addition to the total cost of all items ordered by the customer excluding taxes. “Fast” delivery provides for a time window of 1 hour and 30 minutes and involves a delivery fee of $6. Customers can also select the “Later” option for a fee of $1.99, involving a time window beyond the 1 hour and 30 minutes under the “Fast” delivery option. Customers have reported having selected one of the options and being charged a higher price than the delivery fee advertised for the respective option (for example, being charged $7.99 for the “Fast” delivery option advertised for $6). Not only has Maplebear failed to accurately identify the applicable delivery fees, it has also illegally collected amounts above the delivery fee they indicated applied for each particular delivery option.
Consumer Law Group believes action must be taken for all consumers who completed transactions on the Instacart.ca website and/or Instacart mobile application and who paid a higher price than initially advertised or indicated, including, but not limited to, delivery fees, service fees, and/or any other fee(s).
If you or someone you know are completed transactions on the Instacart.ca website and/or Instacart mobile application and paid a higher price than initially advertised or indicated, or to be kept advised of the status of the Instacart misleading prices and fees litigation or any resulting compensation resulting from the Class Action Lawsuit in Canada (excluding Québec), please provide your contact information to our law firm using the below form.
IF YOU WISH TO JOIN THE CLASS ACTION OR TO SIMPLY GET MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW. Please note that providing your information creates no financial obligation for you. You are not charged any fee or cost for joining this class action. Our law firm is paid a contingency fee from the compensation recovered, only if the class action is successful. All information contained in this transmission is confidential and Consumer Law Group agrees to protect this information against unauthorized use, publication or disclosure.
