DoorDash lawsuit alleges iPhone users are being charged more than Android users

Have you ever ordered from DoorDash and noticed any suspicious charges? A father from Maryland believes he was routinely charged unfairly and has filed a lawsuit against the food delivery service.

According to Business Insider, a man from Maryland named Ross Hecox, has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Doordash. The suit claims that the company tacks on additional fees when users submit an order while on an iPhone. It also suggests that DashPass — a subscription service that charges $9.99 a month — subscribers are charged extra on orders as well. Hecox’s two children are also named in the suit.

The complaint revolves around the nebulous “expanded range fee.” As the outlet points out, this expense is not defined in the list of fees for customers on DoorDash’s website. It’s applied to some orders with addresses close to the pickup location, but not all orders.

The complaint claims a test was conducted with a standard account and a DashPass account. After submitting the same order at the same restaurant, an extra fee was applied to the DashPass account and not the standard. The bill tacked on a $0.99 expanded-range fee even though the order was made with the same delivery address.

DashPass accounts aren’t the only victims the suit alleges. Orders made by standard accounts using iPhones are also reportedly charged this same fee. When conducting a similar test, but with an iPhone and Android phone, the suit claims the iPhone was charged and not the Android.

“DoorDash charges the expanded range fee on iPhone users more often than Android users and charges iPhone users more for ‘delivering’ (likely because studies reveal iPhone users earn more).”

Hecox’s lawsuit is asking for $1 billion for damages. The proposed class-action lawsuit is described as being “for all consumers who fell prey to DoorDash’s illegal pricing scheme over the past four years.”

In response to the allegations, a DoorDash spokesperson told Business Insider the following.

The claims put forward in the amended complaint are baseless and simply without merit. We ensure fees are disclosed throughout the customer experience, including on each restaurant storepage and before checkout. Building this trust is essential, and it’s why the majority of delivery orders on our platform are placed by return customers. We will continue to strive to make our platform work even better for customers, and will vigorously fight these allegations.

This isn’t the first time DoorDash has been accused of this kind of behavior. Just last year, the company had to fight off a lawsuit filed in California that claimed it was falsely advertising no delivery fees and then proceeding to add hidden fees.