Disgruntled customers of food box delivery company HelloFresh have had enough of being charged for meal boxes they didn't want.
The meal-kit company allows customers to 'skip' box deliveries on the weeks when they don't want one. Skipping the next delivery in time prevents the boxes being shipped, and customers won't get charged, according to HelloFresh - but customers must skip the next delivery before a specified cut-off date.
However Kiritaki/Consumer NZ has revealed it's received several complaints from Kiwis angry about being charged for boxes or shipping for kits they had skipped.
Head of content at Kiritaki/Consumer NZ, Caitlin Cherry, said it's been an issue for HelloFresh customers for the past three years or so.
"Some customers are being short-changed, and it needs to stop."
HelloFresh's refund policy states customers will get a full refund - minus shipping - if they cancel within the required timeframe. But this has drawn the ire of Kiritaki/Consumer NZ.
Customers should be refunded for everything - including shipping - as "they should not have to fork out to return the box they cancelled" despite what the T&Cs prescribe, Cherry said.
"They cannot shirk their responsibilities."
The HelloFresh app is meant to be more convenient, but some customers have complained their app often failed to properly record when they wanted to skip.
Alice, a fed-up customer, told the watchdog it's a known issue with the app, but when queried, HelloFresh said: "You should have contacted them to say the app wasn't working in time, but (a) you don't know it hasn't worked and (b) they know full well it doesn't!"
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, companies are obliged to carry out their business or service with care and skill, meaning HelloFresh must action any skip request if done before the specified cut-off date.
A HelloFresh spokesperson told Kiritaki/Consumer NZ: "There are currently no identified issues with the website or the app functionality in the back end."
Newshub has contacted HelloFresh for further comment.
