Seattle, WA, United States (AHN) – Starbucks has stopped charging $1.50 for orders of coffee beans less than a pound in stores in the United States.
The Seattle-based company made the decision after being fined by the the Massachusetts Division of Standards for not disclosing the hidden charge to customers.
The fee was ended on Nov. 7 nationwide. It was charged whenever customers ordered coffee beans less than the one-pound bags readily available in Starbucks stores.
Coffee beans cost $11.95 a pound, which should be half a pound at $5.98. Customers who bought half a pound, however, paid $7.48 without being informed of the added cost.
Starbucks, like other companies, can charge additional fees for its products and services so long as it indicated these fees on price lists or informs customers before purchase.
The $1.50 extra charge by Starbucks violated consumer protection laws in Massachusetts against “unfair or deceptive” practices.
The Massachusetts Division of Standards said it became aware of the violation in August. It proceeded to investigate by buying coffee beans at Starbucks stores in Andover, Concord, Reading and other areas. Each time, the store charged the undisclosed fee.
The agency fined the stores it visited a total of $1,575. In response, Starbucks informed officials it would stop charging customers the fee in stores in Massachusetts and all other states.
“Additional fees have to be clearly and conspicuously disclosed to the consumer before the purchase,” Barbara Anthony, undersecretary of the agency’s Office of Consumer Affairs, said in a statement.
Massachusetts officials estimate about 75,000 customers in the state have paid for the extra fee without being aware of it.
A spokesman for the coffee chain, Alan Hilowitz, told the Boston Globe the $1.50 was for “additional labor and packaging” required for orders of half-pound coffee beans.
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