HelloFresh agrees to $7.5 million settlement over alleged violations of state’s automatic renewal law
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office announced that HelloFresh, the world's largest meal kit delivery company, has agreed to a $7.5 million settlement over a consumer protection lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The civil complaint alleged that the company's enrollment of consumers in auto-renewing subscriptions did not clearly disclose the terms of the subscription, did not obtain consumer's affirmative consent, did not give enough post-purchase acknowledgment, and did not offer an easy-to-use cancellation option which violated California's Automatic Renewal law detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office in a press release Monday.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, the company also failed to disclose the conditions of what were advertised as free meals, surprise gifts, and free shipping offers among other allegedly misleading advertising.
HelloFresh agreed to pay $6.38 million in civil penalties, $120,000 in investigative costs, and $1 million in restitution to eligible California consumers who will receive notices about their eligibility from a third-party claims adjuster explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Eligible California customers include:
- Those who were enrolled in an automatic renewal product subscription between January 1, 2019 and August 18, 2025
- Those who were charged for the first shipment without their knowledge or consent
- Those who cancelled their automatic renewal product subscription after the first shipment
- Those who never received a refund from HelloFresh
Of the $6.38 million in civil penalties paid out by the meal kit delivery company, $1,063,334 will be received by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office and used to support future consumer protection law enforcement added the District Attorney's Office.
"We take our commitment to customer transparency very seriously, and our subscription model and cancellation policies have been consistently clear to customers throughout the whole customer journey," said a spokesperson on behalf of HelloFresh Monday, Aug. 18 after the settlement was announced. "While we deny any wrongdoing, we have cooperated fully with the coalition of California District Attorneys and have entered into a settlement agreement with them to resolve the matter amicably."
The District Attorney's Office is a member of the California Automatic Renewal Task Force alongside District Attorney's Offices in Santa Clara, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Cruz counties as well as the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office.
"The Automatic Renewal Laws exist to ensure that consumers are not deceived when making everyday purchases for items like meal kits," explained Santa Barbara County District Attorney Savrnoch. "Cases like these demonstrate that even the largest companies will be held accountable when they violate consumer protection laws."
