After finding out that fast food chains increased the prices of items if they were delivered, Consumer NZ has lodged a complaint with the Commerce Commission.
Consumer NZ said on top of delivery and service fees, restaurants around the country were also charging customers more for each item they get delivered, which risked breaching the Fair Trading Act.
After receiving complaints from customers, Consumer NZ investigated fast food chain prices and found some increased the cost of every item in a customer’s order if it was delivered.
A phone order to one store to collect a meat lovers pizza, would cost $15.39, Consumer NZ said.
But delivered, the same pizza costs $18.49, plus a delivery charge of $7.99, it said. This meant the true cost of getting the pizza delivered was actually $11.09, it said.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said it’s not just the pizza that’s more expensive – every item in the cart increased if a customer opted for delivery.
“We think businesses should be upfront about additional delivery fees, so the customer can make an informed decision.
“The fact these companies aren’t being upfront about the true cost of delivery means they risk breaching the act.”
Since Consumer NZ’s investigation, one chain had added fine print to its website to let customers know it charged a 6 percent delivery service fee, but people were being caught out by hidden costs at other popular fast food chains too, he said.
Customers told Consumer NZ they believed it was intentionally misleading to have two sets of prices for the same menu, without being clear about the different pricing structure.
Consumer NZ said the pricing practices risked breaching the act and would be lodging a complaint with the commission.
Third-party delivery services also hiked the price of each order item when getting a delivery, compared to if a customer was dining in.
