In New York City, our relationship with Dunkin' Donuts has always been tenuous at best.
We were never really that into it, but every once in a while we conceded, either because we had no cash or because it was more convenient than an independent coffee shop.
Then, we learned the news that Dunkin' Donuts had always sadly been serving us a low dose of caffeine, and that bummed us out even more. We've pretty much stuck away since then.
Now that word is out that Dunkin' Donuts is being accused of overcharging its customers, not much will change for us. We'll just continue to stay away.
The New York Post reported instances of Dunkin' Donuts' charging the wrong amount of sales tax; a lot in New Jersey, and even more in NYC.
In Fort Lee, NJ, a branch charged the state's 7% sales tax on an unsweetened bottled water and bags of ground coffee, which a New Jersey state court claimed on Monday is a clear violation of the law.
A store in Midtown NYC charged a customer sales tax on pre-packaged coffee beans, which a second law suit alleges is again in violation of state regulations.
"Dunkin' should stop dunking their customers and provide customers with refunds or discounts so they are made whole," said lawyer Carl Mayer, who filed the lawsuits.
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Mayer said 12 different Dunkin' Donuts branches overcharged their customers 70% of the time.
How much would Dunkin' rake in from overcharging 70% of the time? Mayer estimates it's a lot. In fact, Mayer estimates the company made $10 million off New York customers and $4 million in New Jersey in three years by overcharging on sales tax.
According to Dunkin' spokeswoman Michelle King, the company's corporate office is working on reaching out to its franchisees to get to the source of the issue.
Could this be the next Whole Foods' overcharging scandal? We're hoping not, because with that, the Chipotle issue from the last few months, and now this Dunkin' Donuts lawsuit, we're beginning to wonder whether we can trust large corporations at all.
Looks like we'll be getting our coffee from street side carts and independent shops for the time being.
Check out Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Was Not a Fan of Beyoncé's Halftime Appearance.
[via New York Post] [Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]