A consumer says that he and others with an HP “Instant Ink” subscription are left with faulty, error-prone cartridges in a class action lawsuit filed in California federal court Tuesday.
Lead plaintiff Radek Barnert wants to represent other HP Instant Ink subscribers who were promised an “endless supply of printer ink,” but ended up with late and faulty cartridges that leaves their printers inoperable for extended periods of time.
The plaintiff claims he pre-paid for a two-year HP Instant Ink subscription when he purchased a new printer from Best Buy in June, 2020. As a result of late shipments of multiple error-prone cartridges, he says he was unable to use his printer for 35 days. He says that other flaws in the program render him unable to cancel the subscription or use store-bought ink for excessive down times.
“In a rush to convert its business model to a subscription-based business, HP launched its subscription-based ‘Instant Ink’ program, which is supposed to provide owners of HP printers with an essentially endless supply of printer ink—without ever having to wait to purchase new ink cartridges—because replacement ink cartridges are always at the ready,” explains the class action lawsuit.
Those who subscribe to the HP Instant Ink program are promised that their printer will notify the company when the cartridges get low. Then, in exchange for a flat, monthly fee, HP will send subscribers replacement cartridges so they never run out of ink.
The HP Instant Ink subscription comes with two “significant catches,” alleges Barnert.
First, subscribers are only allowed to use HP ink cartridges that are supplied by the program and cannot use store-bought supplies. While this should not be a problem because the HP Instant Ink program purports to keep subscribers supplied with the cartridges they need, the plaintiff says “HP routinely cannot deliver upon the promises it made regarding the Program.”
“Specifically, HP routinely fails to timely provide Subscribers with replacement printer cartridges, and, even when it does, Subscribers find themselves overwhelmed with errors that prevent them from printing,” alleges the class action lawsuit.
Barnert alleges that he and other HP Instant Ink subscribers are often left unable to use their printers for extended periods of time because of problems with the program. Further, when customers complaint, HP claims that it cannot fix the problems and instead offers to ship more ink cartridges – a process that can take more than a week.
To add insult to injury, HP requires subscribers to purchase ink cartridges as a part of the Instant Ink program; however, if they cancel their subscription, HP disables the cartridges and forces them to buy new ink cartridges from a retail location, claims the class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff also accuses HP of misrepresenting its promise to recycle used ink cartridges at no cost to subscribers. Barnert alleges that the company refused to send the prepaid shipping materials to return his used or malfunctioning ink cartridges and told him to instead throw them away.
HP violated the terms of its own contract with its Instant Ink subscribers, as well as consumer protection laws, alleges the class action lawsuit. Barnert wants to represent Instant Ink subscribers nationwide, as well New York subclasses.
The plaintiff wants to put a stop to the HP Instant Ink subscription and also force the company to reimburse him and other Class Members.
Do you pay for an HP Instant Ink subscription? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Mark L. Javitch of the Javitch Law Office, and Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr. and Matthew C. De Re of Zimmerman Law Offices.
The HP Instant Ink Subscription Class Action Lawsuit is Barnert v. HP, Inc., Case No. 5:21-cv-05199 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Jose Division.
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715 thoughts onHP ‘Instant Ink’ Renders Printers ‘Entirely Worthless,’ Claims Class Action Lawsuit
I just unpacked this new hp and reading all the dissatified people having to buy a subscripti0n for ink. I’m thinking maybe I better return to costco before I even try to mess with this.
I had HP instant ink services starting in December I was getting the 300 pages a month plus the paper add-on 25.28 a month but I wasn’t using that many and I needed to save money where I can with today’s economy so I lowered it down to the $16 one a month I think it’s 150 pages a step down The month I lowered it down I was still build the $25 they tell me you got a back pay a month okay the next month I’m billed again for $25 whenever I switched over from the $25 to $16 one The site told me that my next payment would be $19 which it wasn’t it was $25 and then now they’re withdrawing $25 again after a long time talking to the lady in the chat help We were getting nowhere she wasn’t honoring what the site said and said no that the first month when I lowered it down it was not lower down yet I was still at 300 pages which I know it was but when I go to look at my account all of a sudden it’s showing that that month was 300 pages which it didn’t say before so I’m screenshotting everything from them finally at the end of all this I told them I wanted to cancel I have been only able to print the $150 sheets for 2 months and still getting billed the 300 sheets $25 and she says well if you know if you cancel you still get a $16 charge next month and this iis the same day that I just paid the $25 because it was taken out of my account and I couldn’t dispute it And I argued with her some more Don’t see why I’m still getting charged if I canceled I can see them go ahead and keeping the $25 that I paid that day because they already have that money even though I won’t be able to print. So she said that she would be nice and that instant Ink will just pay for that month of the $16 for me canceling. And now I can’t print anything because you cannot print with the insta ink cartridges that you have been paying for this whole time it took me awhile to figure out why I couldn’t print and then just a couple of days ago this is after I’ve not been able to print they just tried to bill me again for another $6 I already had them blocked where they couldn’t get no more money luckily
i personally, have no issues whatsoever with 2 instant ink subscriptions for different printers. One is newer wide format, the other is a smaller regular size format and i have had ink subscriptions for some time. No issues with it messing printer up or making it unusable.
I am beyond frustrated with hp. I canceled my instant ink subscription because it was outrageously expensive and wasn’t enough printing for my needs and they have rendered my printer totally useless. I bought multiple different types of cartridges and when I print my printer quality test page my printer has no issues. But when I actually try and print a document it comes out completely smeared and smudged unreadable. This is unacceptable I’ve spent so many hours troubleshooting my printer when it’s all because HP doesn’t want to allow me to print because I haven’t purchased their ink
The Hewlett-Packard Company, or HP, is a disgusting, predatory company, with terrible customer service, oh, and did I mention, a SCAM? HP disabled my printer today due to a past-due balance on some unnecessary paper add-on services. I was on hold for long periods, and customer service sucked over all. The first representative was unable to provide me with a detailed, straightforward answer to all my questions regarding these random charges. I asked HP customer service employees more than a couple of times to provide a straightforward copy of an itemized breakdown of the charges they are claiming I owe. I still never got that itemized list of charges. Then I waited on hold for a supervisor. I finally spoke to a supervisor who “could not get rid of all the charges” but could provide me with a discount off the charges I “accumulated”. I agreed upon that as a temporary resolution while I search for another printer in the meantime to replace this POS. Turns out, HP wants to collect the full amount of the “past due” charges and then refund me the difference?????? Not only do I distrust them because no one ever sent me an itemized invoice of charges, but I also explained to them that I do not have the full amount to pay these random charges. I spoke to another supervisor, and he claimed that their system can not charge me the lesser amount and that they “have to” charge me the full amount. Why? You mean to tell me that a billion-dollar corporation, that can afford the software to closely monitor my printer at home, but can not afford “a system” that can process my request to pay an agreed-upon, lower amount? Cool, not only has HP wasted most of my time and money with this crap, but they made it so obvious that they do not care about their clientele and now I’m left with a crappy printer that will not print until that said balance is taken care of. This is abhorrent, and I will not be using their products ever again. Not one of their representatives/supervisors can give you straight answers on the alleged charges, and one supervisor who I spoke to I had to put him in check because he had a nasty attitude. The other supervisor I spoke to was useless and didn’t seem to care that I don’t have the money they are demanding from me. Thanks HP. I will never be using your products/services again and will be spreading the word to others to avoid your company like they are avoiding the plague.
Sincerely,
A broke college student
I just got off the phone with HP tech support. My Desk jet printer quit printing last night. The orange flashing light came on and I spent almost 3 hours today with their tech support. Suffice it to say that they admitted if I resubscribed to the Instant Ink, I would be able to print. They started to blame it on the fact that my.printer is out of warranty.
I failed to mention, I am in the middle of sifting through the statements but it looks like I have utilized maybe 3 pages printed in the last 7 months from my own cartridges bought from the store.
I have a subscription with them, for over 5 years apparently! I just became aware of this fact today while reviewing my financials. It’s such a small amount that it has slipped under the radar for so long. I even had card replacements in that time, and for some reason, they were able to update their payment system somehow. I am signed up for $4.99 subscription which gives me a 0-50 page prints a month and supposedly unlimited ink yet their records indicate the last time they shipped me cartridges was 2020 and I know its not accurate because that was during covid which I got all my supplies from my employer at the time.
I attempted to contact support by phone but since they did not have my phone number on file (yet it is on my billing information) the automated system could not identify my account and said I need to reach out via website and ended the call.
I have not cancelled the subscription as I want to collect all records first, just incase they deny access once I cancel.