Instacart settles with FTC for $60 million over alleged false advertising

"Instacart has also failed to clearly disclose that customers who enroll in a free trial for its Instacart+ program will be charged membership fees at the end of the trial. The FTC said hundreds of thousands of customers have been charged but have received no benefits from memberships or refunds. Instacart+ offers members free deliveries on most orders for $99 per year."

"The FTC said Instacart also advertises a "100% satisfaction guarantee," but customers who experience late deliveries or unprofessional service are typically only offered a small credit that can be used toward a future order and not a refund. "The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms," said Christopher Mufarrige, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection."

Instacart will pay $60 million in customer refunds under a Federal Trade Commission settlement over alleged deceptive practices. The FTC said Instacart falsely advertised free deliveries and failed to clearly disclose service fees that can add as much as 15% to orders and must be paid for customers to receive groceries. The FTC said Instacart failed to clearly disclose that free trial enrollments in Instacart+ result in membership charges at trial end, and that hundreds of thousands were charged without receiving membership benefits or refunds. The company advertised a "100% satisfaction guarantee" but typically issued small credits instead of refunds.

Read at Fast Company