9 Jun 2023

HelloFresh under Commerce Commission investigation over potential Fair Trading Act breaches

1:23 pm on 9 June 2023
The HelloFresh website in January 2023.

People have complained about issues with quality, refunds, subscriptions, customer service and promotions. Photo: RNZ / Dan Satherley

The Commerce Commission is investigating food delivery company HelloFresh after receiving more than 100 complaints.

The commission's general manager of fair trading Kristen Mannix said issues with subscriptions made up about three-quarters of the complaints, 82 of the 104 received in the past year.

But people have also complained about issues with quality, refunds, customer service and promotions, she said.

"We are currently investigating whether HelloFresh has potentially breached the Fair Trading Act.

"The Fair Trading Act prohibits false and misleading representations and a range of other unfair business practices."

The maximum penalty was $200,000 for an individual and $600,000 for a business.

As the investigation was ongoing, Mannix was unable to provide any further information, she said.

HelloFresh has been contacted for comment but declined to be interviewed by Checkpoint.