People Are Deleting Their McDonald's App—Here's Why
McDonald's
Many customers who regularly use the McDonald’s app have been deleting the popular fast-food app altogether after a recent discovery was made in the latest terms and conditions set in place by the popular restaurant. And while as customers we have decades of collective experience with the shady nature of most corporations, it should come as no surprise that those same entities are finding new ways to protect their bottom line.
The latest terms and conditions for using the McDonald’s app actually include many customer-affecting changes. Updates to McDonald’s liability in cases of injury, third-party errors and in-app malfunctions, waivers for a customer’s right to a jury trial or class action lawsuit and an agreement to solve disputes through a strict arbitration process have all been included in the new terms.
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For example, if a customer tries to sue over a burn caused by coffee that was too hot, that customer cannot just take their case to trial. Instead, McDonald’s lays out a 12-step outline which requires the customer to notify the company of their intent to seek arbitration and then meet with the company to discuss the problem. Then, and only then, can an arbitrator actually come into the equation, effectively eliminating the decision by jury and instead giving a single arbitrator the deciding power.
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In a post shared to Reddit regarding the changes to McDonald’s terms and conditions, one user noted that “arbitration clauses are pretty standard these days,” stating that, “They (McDonald’s) are sued often enough to know which arbitrators to select and the deck is stacked against you should you choose to sue over an unhappy meal.”
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Having to file your own dispute with McDonald’s skews the entire process in the favor of old Ronald McDonald. And the worst part about it? When deciding whether or not to accept the new terms and conditions, the app gives you no box to check indicating that you disagree. Users are limited to either agreeing, or deleting the app.
Typically, any company's terms and conditions are going to be filled with a slew of legal vernacular that the average fast-food customer will not understand, let alone read. And in McDonalds’ apparent push to see more customers use their app, it’s obvious that the American fast-food chain is doing everything in their power to eliminate their chances of being sued.
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Thankfully, some people are taking it upon themselves to educate others on the legal risks of using the McDonald’s app. TikTok user Seansvv offered his understanding of the legal repercussions of agreeing to these terms and conditions, in which he cautioned his viewers on just how “highly dangerous” it is to blindly accept them, as McDonald’s has designed this clause to exclusively protect themselves.
And if you’re wondering if a lack of signature and date when agreeing to these terms makes the conditions any less legally binding, it would be safe to assume that McDonald’s still has the upper hand as the terms and conditions are in fact enforceable by law in most states. If this is of concern to you, you’d be safer avoiding the app altogether and enjoying McDonald’s the old fashioned way.
