A lawsuit against DoorDash alleges what some users have long suspected: the company charges Apple users more than Android owners
A proposed class-action suit says that DoorDash uses higher delivery fees and an "expanded range" fee to charge iPhone users more than Android users.
www.businessinsider.com
Alex Bitter and Geoff Weiss May 19, 2023, 8:30 AM EDT
A lawsuit against DoorDash claims that the delivery service charges iPhone users more than those who order on an Android device. DoorDash
- A proposed class-action lawsuit claims that DoorDash charges iPhone users more than Android owners.
- DoorDash uses higher delivery charges and an "expanded range" fee to do it, the suit alleges.
- "The claims put forward in the amended complaint are baseless and simply without merit," a DoorDash spokesperson said.
If you've ever noticed inconsistencies in how DoorDash charges fees, a lawsuit recently filed against the delivery service might help explain why.
A proposed class-action suit claims that the delivery service tacks on extra fees to orders placed through iPhones compared to otherwise identical orders from users with Android smartphones. The suit also alleges that customers who use DashPass, the company's $9.99-a-month service, are charged an extra fee on each order, which eats away at the savings that they get from the subscription.
"The claims put forward in the amended complaint are baseless and simply without merit," a DoorDash spokesperson told Insider. "We ensure fees are disclosed throughout the customer experience, including on each restaurant storepage and before checkout. Building this trust is essential, and it's why the majority of delivery orders on our platform are placed by return customers. We will continue to strive to make our platform work even better for customers, and will vigorously fight these allegations."
The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, was filed by Ross Hecox, a single father in Maryland who uses DoorDash and subscribes to DashPass. Also named in the complaint are Hecox's two children, Reid and a minor listed as "R.E.H.," both of whom have used DoorDash in the past.
The lawsuit's key claim concerns the "expanded range fee." The charge isn't defined on a list of fees for customers on DoorDash's website. Customers and Dashers have debated the reason for the fee, which is applied to some orders with delivery addresses near the pickup location and doesn't appear to be passed on to delivery workers.
"In a test on the DoorDash Platform, however, DoorDash applied the Expanded Range Fee to a DashPass account, but not to a standard account when each account placed the same order at the same time to the same restaurant for delivery to the same home," the complaint reads.
In an example, the complaint shows two identical orders from Chipotle: one placed using DashPass, the other without it. Only the DashPass order is assessed a $0.99 expanded-range fee, despite both accounts using the same delivery address.
The complaint shows two identical orders from Chipotle: one placed using DashPass, the other without it. Reid & Ross Hecox, US District Court for the District of Maryland
The expanded-range fee also applies to some orders made through regular DoorDash accounts when customers order using an iPhone, according to the lawsuit. In one case, the same order from a Panera Bread was charged the $0.99 fee on an iPhone but not on an Android device.
According to the lawsuit, "DoorDash charges the expanded range fee on iPhone users more often than Android users and charges iPhone users more for 'delivering' (likely because studies reveal iPhone users earn more)."
"These tactics are simply money grabs," it continues.
An example from the complaint of an "expanded range fee." Ross Hecox, Reid Hecox, US District Court for the District of Maryland
An example from the complaint of a higher delivery fee charged to an iPhone user. Ross Hecox, Reid Hecox, US District Court for the District of Maryland
In other cases, iPhone users were charged a slightly higher delivery fee, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks for damages worth $1 billion "for all consumers who fell prey to DoorDash's illegal pricing scheme over the past four years."
The suit is also sparking a lively conversation on TikTok, given the popularity of DoorDash drama on the platform.
In one video with 2.3 million views, a legal analyst who goes by the user name Lawyer Angela and says she covers class-action suits and settlements showcased screenshots from the complaint, including two Chick-Fil-A orders (above) where an iPhone user was charged $1 more than an Android user.
Scores of commenters were convinced they'd been impacted and asked to be tagged once the suit was resolved. "As an avid DoorDash orderer, this means they owe me approximately $1,425,737.56," one joked.
Others balked at the suit's claim that iPhone users were in a higher-income bracket and thus being charged higher fees. "Not me being unemployed with an iPhone," one wrote.
Some viewers were surprised to learn about the expanded-range fees, which Lawyer Angela said the complaint likened to a "scam."
"Omg I never even look at the fee breakdown just click submit order bc I'm a hungry dash pass user," another commenter wrote. "I feel so violated."
Delivery services' transparency around their fees has become a major issue, including in Washington, DC. In February, a group of Democratic US senators sent letters to Uber, Grubhub, and DoorDash asking about the services' so-called "junk fees" that raise prices for consumers in an opaque or deceptive way, The Washington Post reported.
President Joe Biden's administration is also pushing back on junk fees at a variety of companies, from home-internet services to concert-ticket providers.
