Panera Limits Refills for ‘Unlimited Sip Club,’ Class Action Says

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Panera Bread Company faces a proposed class action that alleges the fast-casual café chain has limited how often a member of its “Unlimited Sip Club” can refill their beverage. 

The 16-page case says that although an Unlimited Sip Club subscription purports to provide a member with “endless” access to lemonade, coffee, tea and soda at Panera, the “fine print” reveals that “unlimited” refills of “any size” drink at “any time” means only once every two hours.

Further, the lawsuit contends that Panera has deceptively enticed consumers to join its roughly $11-per-month Unlimited Sip Club by dangling a “free trial” after which customers are actually charged immediately for their first month. Essentially, Panera customers must remember to cancel their “free” month of Unlimited Sip Club membership, which automatically renews each month, before the month is out in order to actually enjoy a free trial period, the suit relays. 

“Even where a ‘free trial’ would not result in an immediate charge, tethering a free trial to enrollment in an auto-renewing subscription is a deceptive practice,” the complaint alleges. 

By adopting this auto-renewal-by-default policy for its Unlimited Sip Club, Panera “takes advantage of consumer inertia,” as auto-renewal users are “seven times more likely” to continue, or not cancel, their subscriptions following an initial trial period, according to the suit. 

Panera customers who look to cancel their Unlimited Sip Club subscriptions run up against “obstacles” that include having to click through multiple webpages and navigate small font before reaching the page where they can actually cancel their subscription, the lawsuit adds. Once a customer gets there, Panera “interferes with their choice by attempting to prevent their cancellation by a discounted monthly rate,” the suit states, claiming such tactics are harmful to consumers.  

Moreover, the case says, Panera has effectively taken advantage of subscribers by failing to send reminders to customers prior to their automatic subscription renewals each month. 

Overall, the value of an Unlimited Sip Club subscription is materially less than represented by Panera, the case claims. 

The lawsuit looks to represent consumers in Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Alaska, Arkansas, Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Dakota and Utah who subscribed to Panera’s Unlimited Sip Club within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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