FuelRod Class Action Challenges Unlimited Free Swap Policy

A class action lawsuit claims that the makers of the portable charger FuelRod reneged on their policy of getting a free replacement charger when one gets depleted.

Plaintiff Tyler Veasey says he purchased a FuelRod at a kiosk at Walt Disney World in Florida and was told that the purchase entitled him to “Free Unlimited Swapping.”

However, when his charger was void of power, he found out that defendant Tricopian Inc. makes customers now pay for new chargers.

The FuelRod class action lawsuit claims that in the beginning of 2019, the defendants started to charge their users $3 if they wanted to swap their FuelRods in for a new one.

“This is a fundamental change in the nature of the service provided and results in Plaintiff and the class owning a far less desirable product that they would not have purchased, or would have only purchased at a lower price,” the Tricopian class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiff alleges that the defendants have marketed their service by way of a one-fee of between $20-$30, the consumer would receive a small portable charger that can be used to charge their mobile phones or anything else that uses a USB port. Veasey also claims that when the charger runs out of power, the customer could take it back to a kiosk and exchange it for a fully-charged charger at no cost.

The signage, “Unlimited Free Swaps” and “Unlimited Swapping FREE” was prominently featured at the kiosk when Veasey made his original purchase, the FuelRod class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiff says the capacity for the chargers are measured in milli-Ampere-hours (mAh) and the higher the mAh capacity, the more charge the portable charger can hold and thus, deliver to a phone or tablet.

Veasey states that most chargers that are commercially available are rated at 10,000 mAh and can charge a phone three or more times on a single charge. The plaintiff claims that the defendant chargers are rated at only 2,600 mAh, which means that they are not able to deliver a single complete charge to a device.

The Tricopian class action lawsuit also alleges that, “implicit in the purchase price and sales transaction is the ongoing right to take advantage of Defendants’ swapping service, for free, on an unlimited basis, as represented on the kiosk at the time of purchase.”

The plaintiff claims that, in September 2019, kiosks at Walt Disney World started to use different signage that no longer stated that free unlimited swaps were available, only referring to the devices as “swappable.” And then the signs were changed again in October 2019 to reflect that FuelRod kiosks would now charge $3 to swap devices as of Nov. 1, 2019.

An article published on Inside the Magic notes that, “After the news of the increased cost per swap for FuelRods at Disney Parks initially broke, many Disney Parks visitors shared that FuelRods aren’t even the best portable chargers on the market, and they’re right. According to the case, FuelRods aren’t as high quality of other portable charging systems available for purchase at other retailers.”

Proposed Class Members include: “All individuals and entities in the United States who purchased a FuelRod from a kiosk within the applicable statutes of limitations preceding the filing of this lawsuit that contained signage indicating ‘Free Unlimited Swapping’, ‘Unlimited Free Swaps’, or like verbiage.”

Did you purchase a FuelRod portable charger? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Francis J. Flynn, Jr. of the Law Office of Francis J. Flynn, Jr. and James Rosemergy of Carey Danis & Lowe.

The FuelRod Portable Charger Class Action Lawsuit is Veasey v. Tricopian, et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-02060, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Amazon Echo Dot Allegedly Violates Kids’ Privacy

Can You Remove Hernia Mesh Safely?

Glock Handgun Class Action Highlights Gun’s Dangers

Natural Disasters: Flood and Hurricane Insurance Claim Help