Starbucks is accused of using “dark patterns” through its mobile app that make it difficult for users to use low funds on their card. The app forces users to add $10 or forfeit the remaining balance, complains a consumer action group, creating a cycle of spending that prevents customers from being able to fully spend their prepaid amounts.
The complaint, which runs to 15 pages, alleges that the Starbucks’ mobile app and digital payment cards are similar to an “involuntary subscription”. The customers can only reload money in $5 increments, with a $10 minimum purchase. According to the group, this means that customers can never reach a zero balance, allowing Starbucks to keep hold of more of their money.
According to Chris Carter, the campaign manager for the group, Starbucks manipulates its payment platform to encourage consumers to leave unused money on their cards and apps. Although it may seem like a small amount of money at first, those few dollars add up over time.
In 2021, the Starbucks app handled the payments of more than 31 million users, and these customers loaded approximately $15 billion onto Starbucks Cards last year. Meanwhile, in the past five years, Starbucks, per the complaint, claimed close to $900 million in unspent gift card and app money as revenue, which has helped to increase corporate profits and inflate executive bonuses.
The consumer group sent a letter last month urging the Attorney General to intervene and put an end to Starbucks’ misleading practices in Washington state, and to compensate consumers for any harm caused. “The Starbucks Payment Platform involves unfair and deceptive digital dark patterns that effectively trap its customers into prepaying for the company’s services,” said the Washington Consumer Protection Coalition in the letter.
Starbucks disputes the group’s claim. A Starbucks spokesperson told Gizmodo that customers can visit a physical store and request to use the Starbucks Card from the app, along with another payment method, to pay for their purchase.