If someone in your household has an Android phone, you might want to let them take charge of DoorDash orders from now on, as it appears that the food ordering company might be charging Apple users more for their services.
DoorDash Charges Extra for Apple Users
A lawsuit was filed in Maryland federal court stating that Apple users have been getting "expanded range fees" upon placing an order. The complaint was put forth by a DashOass subscriber, Ross Hecox, along with his sons.
DoorDash is said to be adding additional charges by choosing to deliver from restaurants that are farther than the delivery address, even though there are closer options. Several other users have complained that the extra fee is not listed in DoorDash's official fees.
As mentioned in Gizmodo, the company "manipulates delivery areas based on Dasher locations, consumer demands, and merchants' partnership with DoorDash." Tests were conducted in order to confirm the allegations.
Two orders were placed at the same time, delivering from the same restaurant which is addressed to just one location. A DashPass subscriber had the expanded range fee while the regular user did not.
In another test, an iPhone user put down an order from Chick-fil-A along with an Android user doing the same. Both were ordered from the same branch with the same food items. However, the iPhone user had a $1 additional charge for their delivery fee.
A DoorDash spokesperson denies the accusations in an email statement, saying that the claims put forward in the amended complaint are baseless and without merit. They expressed that their priority is to provide "the best service possible"
They added that they make sure that consumers know what they will be paying for throughout their experience with the food delivery service, which includes the fees at restaurant store pages as well as before checkout.
In addition to the extra charges, the complaint also tackles the issue of the company tricking users into thinking that the delivery fees go to the drivers delivering the food, even when the company actually pockets it.
Another Burden for iPhone Users
Aside from the heavy price tags that already come from Apple products, its users also have to pay an additional 30% for in-app purchases due to the cut that Apple takes from developers of the apps at the same percentage.
Compared to the main service that Android devices use such as Google, the company only takes in a 15% cut since it was reduced back in 2021. Developers like Epic Games even decided to remove their apps from the App Store because of the huge fee, according to MakeUseOf.
Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken issue with the additional 30% fee that comes with in-app purchases, saying that it was ten times higher than it should be. Musk likened Apple's extra charge to having a 30% tax on the Internet, which was "not ok."
Although, Apple did reduce its tax charge on smaller businesses, which has been cut down to 15%. Still, it makes the $1 extra charge on DoorDash seem all the more unfair given that Apple users are already paying more than Android users in in-app purchases alone.
