By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-28 16:41:55 | Updated at 2024-12-29 08:29:24
15 hours ago
Arby’s may have “the meat,” but some customers have a beef.
A Queens woman is accusing the fast food joint of downsizing its French fries and drinks without lowering prices or alerting customers in a class action lawsuit.
“Arby’s deceptively continues to sell its fries and beverages in smaller sizes which are now substantially smaller than the old sizes,” the suit, filed in Queens County Supreme Court, alleges.
“The increase in prices may never be noticed by Arby’s purchasers, who may be left only with a strange feeling, short of satiety, even though this was due to … downsizing,” it continues.
By comparing nutritional facts for its different portions of fries, lawyers representing Melissa Nelson, of Ridgewood, found that Arby’s phased out its kids’ sized fries, made that portion the new small, the prior small the new medium, and the old medium the new large.
The company allegedly made the switch with its drinks, too, and did so “without any corresponding reduction in price … or disclosure to its customers.”
Crinkle fries at Arby’s now cost $3.74 for a small, $4.49 for a medium, and $4.99 for a large.
And a recent fast food run by The Post found all three sizes had nearly the same amount of fries inside.
The move comes amid increasing instances of “shrinkflation,” when companies reduce quantities — often without changing package size — and only sometimes lower prices, and “greedflation,” when companies charge more for less in the face of rising inflation, the suit argues.
A federal push to make “shrinkflation” illegal, the Shrinkflation Prevention Act, would prohibit downsizing without transparency and proportionate reductions in prices, and would prevent consumers from getting “shortchanged,” it notes.
Other countries, including France, South Korea, and Hungary have enacted laws that require clear notices that a product has been downsized without a corresponding reduction in price.
Social media users got wise to Arby’s moves, too, the lawyers found, with one even claiming that an employee said, “Arby’s corporate is downsizing all the size portions.”
Customers like Nelson have come to rely on Arby’s “consistent sizes” at “relatively consistent prices over time” and have been misled into forking over more for less, a violation of business law, the suit, which seeks unspecified damages, argues.
Nelson seeks to represent any New Yorkers who purchased French fries and beverages at Arby’s in the state before the sizes were adjusted downwards.
Arby’s did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Post.
Additional reporting by Kathianne Boniello
