Extra price topping on deliveries
Consumer NZ is lodging a complaint with the Commerce Commission after it found fast-food chains increased the prices of items if they were delivered.
Consumer NZ said that on top of delivery and service fees, the chains were also charging customers more for each item delivered, which risked breaching the Fair Trading Act. After receiving complaints from customers, Consumer NZ investigated and found Pizza Hut and Domino’s increased the cost of every item in a customer’s order if it was delivered.
A phone order to a Pizza Hut store to collect a meat lovers pizza cost $15.39, Consumer NZ said.
But delivered, the same pizza cost $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.
Commerce Commission general manager of fair trading Vanessa Horne said it had received 12 complaints this month about hidden delivery fees for food and through delivery services.
When Stuff phoned Pizza Hut yesterday to place an order, the cost of a Hawaiian pizza was $7, a pepperoni was $7, and meat lovers $11, coming to $25 for pickup.
To get it delivered it was $9.99 for a Hawaiian, $9.99 for a pepperoni and $13.99 for meat lovers, plus a $7 delivery fee, taking the total to $40.97.
The same order at Domino’s came to $24 for pickup. Hawaiian cost $7, pepperoni $5 and meatlovers $12. For delivery, the store worker said it came to $40 because there was a $10 delivery fee and the price of the Hawaiian and pepperoni increased by $3 each. However, the same order online came to $42.40, because it also included a 6% service delivery fee which came to $2.40 for the order.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said it was not just the pizza that was more expensive. Every item in a cart increased if a customer opted for delivery, he said.
‘‘We think businesses should be upfront about additional delivery fees, so the customer can make an informed decision,’’ Duffy said.
‘‘The fact these companies are not being upfront about the true cost of delivery, means they risk breaching the act.’’ Since Consumer NZ first started investigating delivery costs in May, Domino’s had added information to its website to let customers know it charges a 6% delivery service fee.
Domino’s also emailed the customers on its database to let them know about the fee. Domino’s declined to comment. Restaurant Brands, which owns Pizza Hut, did not respond to requests for comment.
Duffy said people were being caught out by hidden costs at other popular fast-food chains too.
Most customers knew they were paying for delivery but they might not know how much more it was really costing them, Duffy 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 it 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 the cost of dining in.