Instacart changed its practice related to the service fee on April 23, 2018, when the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) contacted it about the issue, which also reported by the media. The company refused to refund consumers who were deceived by its practice.
Attorney General Racine alleged the company violated the District’s Consumer Procedure Act by engaging in deceitful business practice.
In addition, Attorney General Racine accused Instacart of violating the District’s tax law by failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales tax.
“Instacart tricked District consumers into believing they were tipping grocery delivery workers when, in fact, the company was charging them extra fees and pocketing the money,” said Attorney General Racine.
He added, “Instacart used these deceptive fees to cover its operating costs while simultaneously failing to pay D.C. sales taxes. We filed suit to force Instacart to honor its legal obligations, pay D.C. the taxes it owes, and return millions of dollars to District consumers the company deceived.”
Attorney General Racine wants Instacart to pay penalties & refunds to consumers
Attorney General Racine is requesting the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to order Instacart to provide restitution to D.C. consumers and to pay unpaid sales taxes plus interests.
