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Washington, DC is suing Grubhub, the food delivery app, for what they are calling practices and tactics which deceive customers in order to boost profits.
A complaint filed by the District of Columbia against Grubhub Holdings Inc., and Grubhub, Inc., with a list of allegations being made against the company.
According to DC Attorney General Karl A. Racine, "Grubhub charges hidden fees and uses bait-and-switch tactics, all while pretending to help local businesses during the pandemic. This needs to stop."
According to Racine, Grubhub uses "illegal tactics" that include:
- Failing to disclose when it charges higher prices than restaurants
- Impersonating DC restaurants to get more business for Grubhub
- Advertising “free” services that aren’t actually free
Racine concludes, "And in one of Grubhub’s most shameless moves, at the beginning of the pandemic, it ran a discount called “Supper for Support,” ginning up business by claiming to help struggling restaurants, and then stuck restaurants with the bill."
A person who claims to be a representative for Grubhub responded to the claims on Twitter, calling the lawsuit "frivolous." David Tovar claims that Grubhub "work[s] hard to support DC restaurants" and that their practices "have always complied with DC law, and in any event, many of the practices at issue have been discontinued."