Chipotle Customers In Pa. Accuse Chain of Short-Changing Them

UPDATE: On Sept. 29, 2020, Chipotle customers blasted the restaurant for missing the deadline to remove their class action lawsuit to federal court by one day.

Chipotle Mexican Grill faces a new class action lawsuit that accuses the chain of intentionally short-changing cash-paying customers.

Plaintiffs Megan Fox and Bridget McMahon claim Chipotle “engages in a corporate policy of misappropriation of consumer funds and unfair trade practices” by refusing to provide proper change or credit to customers paying cash at its restaurants.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, according to Patch.

The class action lawsuit accuses Chipotle of misappropriation and conversion, unfair trade practices, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

The plaintiffs allege that Chipotle’s company policy directs employees not to return the full amount of change due to customers, but rather to round it down and return the lower amount to the consumer.

McMahon says she purchased food Aug. 18, 2020, at an Allison Park, Pa., Chipotle for a total of $15.51.

McMahon says she used a $20 bill to pay for her food, but only received $4 as change, rather than $4.49, meaning, effectively, the item’s price was $16, which is more than the advertised price.

“This ‘company policy’ not only discriminates against consumers who do not have, or do not wish to use, credit cards, but also results in a tax-free cash windfall to Chipotle,” the class action lawsuit states.

Fox reports a similar experience.

She says ordered a steak burrito for $8.72 at a Chipotle in Wexford, Pa., on Aug. 13, 2020, and, like McMahon, tendered a $20 bill for the purchase.

According to the Chipotle class action lawsuit, Fox was handed $11 in change rather than the $11.28 the receipt showed she was due.

Therefore, the class action lawsuit maintains, the actual price Chipotle is charging is greater than the advertised price.

In addition, Fox’s and McMahon’s receipts “deceptively indicated” that the customers had received more change than they were actually given, “thus covering up evidence of Chipotle’s improper actions,” the complaint says.

“It has become very clear that this is a top-down directive from the corporation, this is how they should handle this situation,” plaintiff’s counsel told CBSN Pittsburgh.

Chipotle violates Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law in several ways, according to the class action lawsuit.

First, the chain allegedly advertises the price of its goods with the intention of not selling them as advertised.

Second, Chipotle “deceptively and confusingly” indicates on consumers’ receipts that they have been given the correct amount of change when in fact they have not, thereby eliminating the consumer’s ability to have proof of the chain’s “conversion and misappropriation.”

In addition, the company’s fraudulent conduct allegedly “creates a likelihood of confusion and misunderstanding when a consumer tenders cash at the end of the transaction, only to be told that the effective price of the product is higher than what was originally ordered.”

And finally, the class action lawsuit says Chipotle converts and misappropriates the consumer’s property, in the form of cash, therefore discriminating against cash-paying customers. 

According to Pennsylvania law, Chipotle is liable for each violation suffered by a Class Member, “for a minimum damage of the greater of the actual loss or $100,” the class action lawsuit states. The law also mandates a recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs from the defendant.

The plaintiffs maintain Chipotle has become unjustly enriched at consumers’ expense.

Not only does the chain collect more than customers agreed to pay, but through its actions and “company policy,” the class action lawsuit says, Chipotle also benefits to the detriment of putative Class Members, “who are effectively penalized and forced to pay more than the advertised purchase price for goods and services.”

The proposed Class includes anyone who paid cash for an item at a Pennsylvania Chipotle on or after Jan. 1, 2020, and were given less change than the difference between the amount tendered and the item’s purchase price.

With their Chipotle class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking the Court to stop Chipotle from refusing to provide cash-paying customers with correct change, to require Chipotle to give cash-paying customers a credit toward future purchases if the restaurant fails to provide correct change, to stop Chipotle “from selling goods or services to consumers who cannot or do not use a credit card at a higher effective purchase price than the same purchase made by those who have and use  a credit card,” and to award any other relief deemed appropriate.

They also demand a jury trial.

Have you been short-changed at a Chipotle Mexican Grill? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Frank G. Salpietro and Richard A Monti of Rothman Gordon PC.

The Chipotle Short-Changing Class Action Lawsuit is Megan Fox, et al. v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Case No. unknown, in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

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