Meal delivery company HelloFresh has been ordered to pay $7.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit in California alleging the company violated the state’s consumer protection law, officials announced on Aug. 18.

The lawsuit, filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Division and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, alleged that HelloFresh misled California consumers into paying ongoing subscription charges without proper notice.

“No company, no matter how big or well-known, is exempt from California’s consumer protection laws,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “We will aggressively pursue enforcement when businesses take advantage of consumers by failing to clearly disclose subscription terms, obtain proper consent, or provide a fair way to cancel.”

Consumers have a right to know what they’re signing up for, he said.

“Digital deception is still deception under the law.”

HelloFresh did not admit liability in the settlement.

“We take our commitment to customer transparency very seriously, and our subscription model and cancellation policies have been consistently clear to customers throughout the whole customer journey,” a HelloFresh spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

“While we deny any wrongdoing, we have cooperated fully with the coalition of California District Attorneys and have entered into a settlement agreement with them to resolve the matter amicably.”

The Germany-based meal service company has captured about 75 percent of the U.S. meal kit delivery market.

The civil complaint alleged that HelloFresh did not clearly and conspicuously disclose its subscription terms before collecting payment.

The counties also alleged the company did not obtain consumers’ consent before charging their credit or debit cards, provide a post-transaction acknowledgment with terms of the subscription, or offer an easy mechanism for cancellation.

The practices allegedly resulted in consumers being unknowingly enrolled in ongoing payment plans that were difficult to terminate, the counties alleged in the civil lawsuit.

California’s Automatic Renewal Task Force authorities are continuing to investigate the case.

The HelloFresh case was filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Under the final judgment on Aug. 18, Judge Daniel Nishigaya ordered HelloFresh to pay $6.38 million in civil penalties, divided among the prosecuting agencies; $120,000 in investigative costs; and $1 million in restitution to be distributed to eligible California consumers, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney.

In a national class action lawsuit settled in 2021, a judge in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts approved a $14 million settlement.

The lawsuit accused HelloFresh of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

In the complaint filed in December 2019, the plaintiffs, who were former HelloFresh customers, alleged the company inundated them with telemarketing calls without their written consent, even though they were on the National Do Not Call registry.

In the settlement, it states that more than 4.8 million people were involved in the class action case.

Members who submitted timely claims stood to receive at least $89.18 each as a result of the settlement.