Grubhub Class Action Says Delivery Fees Increase Without Notice

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An Illinois man says Grubhub has been unlawfully charging higher delivery fees than those advertised in its app.

Plaintiff Matthew Stockman accuses the makers of the Grubhub restaurant delivery app of pulling a scam on consumers who order food through the app.

According to Stockman, Grubhub shows users a proposed delivery fee for each restaurant, then it increases that fee after the user chooses to order from that restaurant.

Grubhub produces a smartphone app that allows users to request food delivery service from participating local restaurants. The service comes with a per-delivery fee. As the user scrolls through the list of available restaurants, Grubhub shows the user what the applicable delivery fee is for that restaurant.

According to Stockman, the delivery fee that Grubhub users end up paying is higher than the fee they originally saw presented in the app. Once a user selects a particular restaurant within the Grubhub app, the next screen in the app shows a different and higher delivery fee. Stockman claims.

Stockman says he has been taken by surprise with these delivery fee increases when he ordered food through Grubhub, most recently in June of this year. He says he selected a local Mexican restaurant with a stated $3 delivery fee, then proceeded to place an order – not realizing that the delivery fee increased after he clicked past the restaurant selection screen.

“Grubhub systematically deceives its customers by increasing the delivery fee and charging customers extra monies for the deliveries for restaurant orders placed through their mobile app,” according to Stockman’s Grubhub class action lawsuit.

“These heightened charges that are imposed on consumers stand in stark contrast to the delivery prices GrubHub affirmatively lists when it displays the list of available restaurants to consumers.”

Stockman says the app does not clearly disclose the increase to users, and it does not prompt users to accept the higher fee.

Neither does Grubhub’s website mention any increase in delivery fees, he says. He quotes language from the website that mentions only that the amount of the delivery fee is set by the corresponding restaurant.

This practice amounts to a bait-and-switch tactic that violates Illinois consumer protection statutes, according to Stockman. He is raising claims under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, along with claims for fraud in the inducement, breach of contract, and restitution and unjust enrichment.

Stockman proposes to bring this Grubhub class action lawsuit on behalf of a plaintiff Class covering all persons who ordered restaurant delivery through Grubhub and for whom the actual delivery price increased from the amount listed in the app’s list of restaurants. He believes Class Members meeting that description could include potentially thousands of Grubhub subscribers throughout Illinois.

He seeks a court declaration voiding his and Class Members’ user agreements with Grubhub. He is also asking the court to award damages, restitution and disgorgement of profits, and reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Stockman is represented by attorneys Holly McCurdy, Celetha Chatman and Michael Wood of Community Lawyers Group Ltd.

The Grubhub Delivery Fee Overcharge Class Action Lawsuit is Matthew Stockman v. GrubHub Inc., Case No. 2017-CH-08812, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.