Meal delivery service HelloFresh has found itself in hot water as allegations surface about charging UK customers for orders they never made.
Despite users claiming they had shut down their accounts, some report unexpected reactivations and charges, sparking widespread anger.
Customers like ‘Laurence’ from Bedfordshire shared his story with State broadcaster the BBC, of waking up in the morning to notifications about his account being mysteriously reactivated and charged. In Laurence’s case a simple perusal of the app’s menu led to an unwelcome £40 charge from HelloFresh. Attempts to resolve the issue were met with a firm no from the company, which even threatened to involve debt collectors if the charge was disputed.
HelloFresh denied any wrongdoing, blaming the situation on ‘proactive decisions’ by customers. The company insists that reactivating an account requires navigating through several steps on their app or website, a claim contradicted by affected customers like Laurence and his wife, Nina, who found themselves billed for meals they didn’t order.
This controversy comes at a challenging time for HelloFresh, whose shares plummeted over 40% following a warning of disappointing earnings. The company, which saw explosive growth during the pandemic, now faces declining subscription numbers and a recent fine for sending millions of unsolicited spam texts and emails.
