Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/24/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They charged me $93.08 for 70 credits on February then all ***** credits disappeared yesterday. When I sign up for their plan, the webpage says unused credits will rollover, but I contacted customer service and they refused to get my credits back without spending another 93 dollars! This company is a total liar and fraud, I need my money back!

  Business Response

  Date: 03/24/2023

  Hi *****, Thanks for reaching out! Your plan does include the rollover feature. However, you are not asking to have your meal credits rolled over. Instead you are asking for us to reactivate your expired plan so that you have more time to use the credits without continuing your MealPal subscription. Please keep in mind that MealPal credit plans last for a maximum of 30 days. Your previous plan ended on 03/17/23. Eligible unused credits do rollover to your next consecutive plan! We see that you opted to suspend your subscription at the end of your previous 30 day plan. As such any unused credits expired on 03/17/23. I have attached a document showing that this is noted in our Terms of Use, on the page used to set up the hold, and mentioned in a confirmation email that we sent to you on 02/20/23 (well before the plan ended). Although you are technically not eligible for rollover since you prevented your subscription from renewing we have offered several times to make any exception for you if your account is reactivated. We cannot reopen your expired plan and alter the end date to give you more than 30 days to use those credits. The credits cannot roll over if you do not have a subscription plan. Please respond back to our email thread if you wish to take advantage of our previously stated offer! 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here] 

   Nobody wants to waste more time and money on this dishonest business. They do not state anything clearly when luring customers to spend money sign up for plan with unused meal rollover. If you really need to rollover and continue use the credit purchased they have all sorts of excuses to prevent you doting it. I do not want to reactive account and spend another $93 to use the credit that I have already purchased with $93, that doesnt make any sense!  I need my $93 money for 70 unused credits back! 

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/23/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  MealPal auto-renewed my subscription. I immediately cancelled and requested a refund. MealPal refused to refund for the full cost of one month. I asked my CC to reverse the charges, which they did. MealPal disputed the reversal, and ultimately charged me $95 for an unused subscription/service. Additionally, MealPal does *not* provide a way to contact them, or ask for a refund within their mobile app. MealPal intentionally makes it difficult to cancel a plan or communicate directly with them regarding cancellations.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/27/2023

  Thanks for reaching out! We have not received any refund requests related to this account. MealPal customer support can be contacted directly from the app when logged in by tapping My Account - Help - Contact Support. We can also be reached via email *********************************** This is noted in the Contact us section of our website and in our FAQ's. Since you opted to dispute the charge instead of canceling your subscription and reaching out to us directly for assistance with a possible refund we reaffirm your banks decision. Your subscription is currently canceled as a result of the dispute. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/13/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had suspended my Mealpal account with 17 purchased meals due to the pandemic. In the attached emails, the customer service rep said that I can adjust my hold date in the app and that they would rollover my unused meals when I'm ready. My office just recently returned to work 3x a week and I had reached out again to reactivate my account, requesting that I use up my previously purchased 17 purchased meals without renewing since I likely won't be able to use up all 17 meals in the 30-day cycle as it is. The company notified me that I cannot use my 17 previously purchased meals without renewing (essentially purchasing new meal package) at the same time and that I can only rollover a *** of 12 meals (contingent that I continue to renew their 12-meal monthly package). Essentially they are forcing me to purchase more meals than I need or forfeit some of my previously purchased meals. I shared the email response that I last received from their customer representative but they said that their terms of service updated (though I was never notified of how it impacted me clearly). This is just very poor business practice.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2023

  Thanks for reaching out! I am sorry to hear that you are displeased with the service you have received from our team. The meals from your plan that ended in March 2020 are expired. We cannot reopen a billing cycle from 2020 and allow you to use those meals as each billing cycle is only valid for 30 days. We have made a large exception to our normal policy by offering to add a number of free meals to your plan if you reactivate your subscription by 01/31/2023. The number of free meals we can add is dependent upon the plan that you choose! 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/30/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had a meal subscription plan with Mealpal earlier this year. Last week, I asked them to put my account on hold for the holiday season. However, without giving me any warning or receiving my consent, they forfeited all my remaining 37 credits. When I started questioning, the only answer I received is "All of the points you mention are covered in our Terms and Conditions, and many points even in our ***s." I did check *** before submitting my hold request. The *** doesn't have any hint that rollover credits would go forfeited. The rollover rule was quietly added to the fine print in Terms and Conditions at some point, which is clearly a deceptive business practice. Mealpal should have bold it and include it in *** for quick read. The app shows # of days remaining in cycle, which doesn't reflect actual days that you can order the meal. In order to use Mealpal to order lunch, we have to go through ***** words constantly changing Terms and Conditions, review upcoming kitchen closing days in the *** and make some guesses on whether they would close on the Monday after holiday weekend. I just want to have a peaceful lunch without having to read Term and conditions every time. Additionally, Mealpal has no genuine interest in resolving my complaint. I simply requested them to extend my cycle by two business days, because they closed the kitchen on Black Friday and I received no response on my hold request for 4 days and not sure if I should put in order after "hold request". They kept selling me more expensive plans. Mealpal, I don't want to renew the plan, count credits every day, count how many kitchen open days I have left in the cycle. I no longer want to put my account on hold. I just want my unused 37 credit refunded. Mealpal, you should revise your business practice. It's not ethical and unfair to your customer.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/24/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  At this time, I have not been contacted by MealPal, Inc. regarding complaint ID ********.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/07/2022

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a meal subscription plan with them. Back in January I had asked them to suspend billing on the account such that I could use up the credits I had purchased with them. No problem. Used up my credits and restarted my subscription. Except I had a 5-6 meal/month plan that rolled over unused credits. I had again in August asked them to pause my billing. Instead they placed my account on hold and I couldnt access the credits I had bought. I clarified with them that no I intended to use my money. They said to do this I have to pay another $80 (month subscription) and that I only had 30 days to use the credits I purchase (no rollover). So it seems when I reactivated my account its now on ***** meal plan, so more expensive. So theyre charging me more, locking off access to the money they charged, and if I want access to my money I have to pay them to get it. Ive requested management resolve this (in the past they had been super accommodating and helpful and Id told them so before) but instead I got a firm reprimand that I only have 30 days (I dont know when that happened either). I just want to use or receive back the money for unused credits.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2022

  Thanks for reaching out! MealPal is a subscription service and each plan does last for 30 days!

  We do offer a rollover feature! A number of unused credits can rollover from one billing cycle to the next consecutive billing cycle provided you continue your subscription on a plan that includes the rollover feature. The number of credits that roll over is equivalent to the number of credits in the plan that you are renewing to! For example, since you are subscribed to our 70 credit plan up to 70 unused credits can rollover to your next plan provided your account does renew consecutively. 

  
  If your subscription does not renew consecutively you have until the end of the 30 day billing cycle to continue using your plan.

  We have offered two different resolutions in an attempt to resolve this matter as we do appreciate you and want you to continue enjoying lunch with MealPal. As discussed, we are happy to either roll over 70 credits to your next 70 credit plan when you return from hold, or alternatively we can provide you with a refund of $66.40.
  
  Feel free to respond back to the email thread that you have ongoing with customer support if you would like to accept either offer!
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/23/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I used MealPal back in 2019 and cancelled when I realized their prices were not accurate and food quantity was very low for the meals. Since then I had the same problem everyone else had where they were performing unauthorized transactions, I cancelled my debit card and had to get a new one while i waited for a refund because they did it TWICE. Lastly, this company is FOREVER SPAMMING me and recently (today) they started TEXTING me coupon codes. I dont like their business practices and would it kill them to take a hint, their do not call list is practically non existent since they continue to violate consumer contact laws

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2022

  Thanks for reaching out! I am sorry to hear that MealPal is not a good fit for you. I see that our team did receive your request to unsubscribe from our marketing list. I can confirm that you have been unsubscribe. We hope that you will consider giving MealPal another try in the future! 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This is most deceptive company ever. So I was only in *** for a short period of time. I bought the 30 day mealpal to get meals for 30 days. Then I wanted to only buy 5 to 6 meals so I could also have lunch with other people and go out etc. I could not figure out why when I bought 5 to 6 meals I still had so many credits left. Well turns out they auto renew you after it gets down to 10 credits which is buried somewhere you don't see it. I didn't see it until I checked my credit card. This is really deceptive and I had to have my wife pickup meals she didnt really want as I had lunch meetings. So basically I bought a much higher priced option to eat way more meals in a month than I wanted to because of their terrrible marketing tactics. On top of that i tried to put my account on hold as I am leaving to *** and it billed me anyway. I like mealpal I really do but I ever time i use it I reconsider ever doing it again because of these insane and shady practices. I probably won't use it when I come back to *** again. Management should really just consider dealing fairly with customers and not just engaging in these tactics.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2022

  Hi! Thanks for reaching out! I am really sorry for any confusion. You are correct, if you have not set your account to cancel or to go on hold your plan will automatically renew one you drop below 10 credits, or after 30 days whichever comes first. I can assure you that this information is visible in the My Account section of the menu along with your plan information. It looks like our customer support team was able to help you resolve this matter! If you need further assistance please feel free to reach back out via that email thread!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/16/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Mealpal is a food subscription service that partners with local vendors to provide meals at a discounted rate via a prepurchase model (https://mealpal.com/). Mealpal operates in large city locations. It was alleged that in January 2022 that I had renewed a Mealpal (although I still do not know how this occurred). In the subsequent months I was charged for their highest tier model at $151.34 dollars monthly.Based on the data, it shows that I was auto-billed approximately $151.34 monthly since January 2022 until discovery on August 14th 2022. During this time, I have never used any of this service for 8 months (I have never gotten 1 meal using Mealpal during this time of service), nor did Mealpal ever share that I was "subscribed" to this service via memorialization of payment or purchase. I am not even in a location where Mealpal is even available, moving outside of a Mealpal jurisdiction for multiple years. When brought up to the help desk, it was offered that they would refund 3 months even though I have never used the service for 8 months. I feel the avoidance of enrollment status/confirmation, and additional barriers in cancellation, although not technically deceptive (when emailed, they were quick to cite it was within their "terms" when I had supposedly enrolled, are within a grey zone, and clearly not a best practice within supporting consumer rights).

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2022

  Thanks for reaching out! As previously discussed, MealPal is a subscription service that renews every 30 days unless canceled. I do see that you reactivated your account in January using a promotion that gave you a $40 discount. Since January we have sent several reminder emails to the email address associated with your account. We do see that these emails were delivered successfully and a great deal of emails were even opened. Since no changes were made to your subscription your account did continue to renew until you requested to cancel your subscription. We have made a large exception to our refund policy for you as the subscription is nonrefundable as noted in our Terms of Use. We are not able to make any further exceptions to our refund policy at this time but I can confirm that your subscription is currently canceled. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/07/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

   

   Hello Mealpal, 

  I disagree with the findings. Based on a review of the emails there was less than 1% of emails from Mealpal opened, with the majority of this 1% subset  opened after identifying the issue, and trying to troubleshoot why I was getting charged. Clearly, I have NOT used the service once during the time I was said to have renewed, nor am I in a zone to use these meals. Why would I want a service that I cant use!!

   
  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/12/2022

  I am sorry to hear that the resolution we have provided is not satisfactory. I did review your account again including the email reminders we sent. Based on information from our email service provider there were at least 72 emails opened in the period that your account was active (January - August). As noted we have already made a large exception to our policy by refunding $454.02. We are not able to make an further exceptions to our refund policy.