The HelloFresh website in January 2023. Photo: RNZ / Dan Satherley
The Commerce Commission is investigating whether food delivery service HelloFresh has breached the Fair Trading Act for charging customers for meal kits they haven't ordered, sometimes even sending debt collectors for payment of unwanted boxes.
In the past 12 months, the Commerce Commission has received 104 complaints about HelloFresh, including problems with subscriptions, promotions, pricing, quality and refunds.
People have also been frustrated by the company's poor customer service where complaints or questions have to go through a chat function on the app or website. Customers who do manage to find a phone number, say they encounter unhelpful customer service representatives, described by consumer advocates as being well-known tactics to make cancelling subscriptions as difficult as possible.
Kathryn speaks with Aucklander Francine Cameron, one of the many customers who's had problems with HelloFresh, and Chief Executive of Consumer NZ, Jon Duffy.
