Dunkin Donuts on Thursday in Allston, MA. (Staff photo by Nancy Lane/Boston Herald) March 23, 2023
A self-proclaimed longtime Dunkin’ fan says he’s stumbled upon some kind of coffee infrequently — and is suing the local donut giant, claiming the company’s mobile app is ripping him off.
Boston resident Martin Kelledy has filed a class action lawsuit in state and federal courts over his allegation, which essentially amounts to alleging that the Dunkin mobile app sometimes adds markups that it doesn’t explain.
For example, he claimed the company charged additional fees for three cases he cited: once when he ordered a toasted plain bagel with butter, another time a toasted plain bagel with cream cheese, and a third when he mixed and got himself a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a large iced coffee with skim milk and Splenda.
Each time, he said in the federal lawsuit against Dunks himself and the Suffolk Supreme Court lawsuit against local franchisees, the input tax was greater than the total on his order. For example, the plain cream cheese bagel was reported at $3.09, but the pre-tax subtotal was $4.34, according to screenshots he provided in the lawsuit.
In other cases, the subtotal was the single amount.
Looking at the Herald’s app Thursday night, an order for a toasted plain bagel with cream cheese at 153 Massachusetts Ave., where Kelledy allegedly bought the same thing, was also listed as $3.09 — but the subtotal was also 3 $.09 .
In the lawsuit, Kelledy claims that he has been “a regular customer of numerous Dunkin stores for many years” and will be upset if he cannot use the app and its rewards program.
Keldy also claims that the app overlooks charges for changes like substituting butter alternatives or adding whipped cream and doesn’t display them correctly.
Keldy is looking for a judge to agree with him and for the donut company to make him the hole – er, whole – by asking him to pay damages and stop the alleged practice.
Dunks’ media relations department did not respond to a request for comment.
Dunkin’ — which dropped the full name “Dunkin’ Donuts” a few years ago and said it wanted to focus more on its beverage brands — began in Quincy, with the original storefront still standing on Route 3A. The company’s headquarters are now in Canton.
