Instacart has agreed to pay consumers $60 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit claiming the company engaged in deceptive tactics.
The agency’s lawsuit asserts Instacart deceived consumers with false advertising, failure to provide refunds and unlawful subscription enrollment processes.
The FTC said in an announcement on Thursday, Dec. 18, that the practices harmed shoppers and raised the cost of groceries for Americans.
Specifically, the agency contends that Instacart’s “free delivery” claims are false because consumers must pay a service fee to access the delivery service. Such fees can add as much as 15% to the order cost and were not clearly disclosed to consumers, the agency said.
The company also allegedly had a 100% satisfaction guarantee policy, which implied it would provide full refunds to customers who experienced incidents of late deliveries or unprofessional behavior. However, in most instances, customers were not offered full refunds but small credits to use on a future order.
