The well-known Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons offered a curious compensation to put an end to a series of lawsuits over the collection of geolocation data: a free coffee and a muffin.
Tim Hortons was the subject of four class actions in Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario over the features of his mobile app. Affected users had their geolocation data collected between April 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020.
The lawsuits accused Tim Hortons of collect the geolocation data of your users and demanded compensation for the breach of privacy.
Whereas a normal class-action settlement would involve the company handing over money to be distributed among a group of plaintiffs, Tim Hortons took another route. Instead, affected customers will receive food and drink as compensation.
“We are pleased to have reached a proposed settlement, subject to court approval.”Tim Hortons said motherboard in an email. As part of the proposed agreement“Eligible app users will receive a free hot drink and baked goods.”
“All parties agree that this is a fair settlement and we await the decision of the Superior Court of Quebec on the proposal”email continues. “We are confident that, pending approval of the settlement by the Quebec court, the British Columbia and Ontario courts will recognize the settlement.”
For consumers, the compensation consists of a credit that can be used to purchase a hot beverage retailing at 6.19 Canadian dollars (4.37 euros) and a bakery item retailing at 2.39 Canadian dollars. (1.83 euros), not including taxes.
While the retail value to consumers is up to 8.58 Canadian dollars ($6.56) not including tax, the actual cost to Tim Hortons will be substantially less.