By Jon Brown | Fox10 Phoenix
A consumer attorney in Hawaii is suing a major Italian restaurant chain for a $2 “temporary inflation fee” that has been added to its checks in a manner she alleges is “deceptive.”
“Restaurants and corporations like to add on these fees that are supposed to look official and somehow required, and in fact, it’s just a way for them to increase their bottom line and decrease their overhead,” attorney Brandee Faria told FOX Business of the consumer class-action lawsuit she filed against Romano’s Macaroni Grill earlier this year.
Faria, who lives in Honolulu, said multiple complaints regarding the restaurant’s allegedly superfluous inflation fee were funneled to her because of her decades-long work specializing in consumer class-action law. The Denver-based chain has 41 locations throughout the U.S.
Faria claimed Romano’s inflation fee is “the tip of the iceberg,” and that other establishments are engaging in similar practices with so-called “kitchen service charges,” which she said can sometimes amount to as much as 3% of the bill.
“No one likes to pay higher prices but the economic realities faced by sellers of products can require price adjustments. Companies are wary of losing price-sensitive customers and may wish to avoid the attention that a price increase brings by reducing the portion size. Others, such as the airline industry, implemented separate fees for luggage, seat assignments, etc. While an added fee is not a new concept, how it is implemented should be carefully considered. If the fee is fully disclosed before a purchase, the customer has the choice to decline the transaction or accept the terms and pay the fee. However, disclosing the fee only after the product is consumed is problematic. Consumer protection laws are designed to protect customers from deceptive conduct and the penalties for such conduct can be significant. This type of disguised effort to offset increased costs could likely expose a company to significant additional liability and reputational harm than the loss of cost-sensitive customers due to a price increase.”
Tony Freeman, Rose Law Group Senior Counsel
