A class action lawsuit accuses restaurant group Hogsalt of improperly hitting customers with unexpected fees and surcharges on their bills, rather than simply raising prices.
George Moore visited a Hogsalt "Small Cheval" restaurant on Sept. 9 in Chicago and, after ordering, eating and paying for the meal, he noticed a $0.75 "Restaurant Surcharge" on the receipt.
The plaintiff claims he was not informed about this surcharge before or during payment, and it was not presented as a separate line item, but rather included within the list of food and drink items, making it easily overlooked.
The surcharge was calculated from the entire bill, excluding tip but including tax, according to the suit.
Moore claims he called the restaurant on Sept. 11, and an employee confirmed that the surcharge was not communicated to customers before purchase and only appeared on the final receipt.
Hogsalt imposed similar surcharges across all its restaurants, allegedly benefiting financially by passing increased business costs onto customers without proper notice or consent, according to the suit.
Moore claims since Hogsalt's restaurants are generally higher-end, these surcharges, often amounting to several dollars per bill, are deceptive and add up to significant sums for customers.
Moore is seeking actual and punitive damages.
He is represented by attorneys Alexander H. Burke and Daniel J. Marovitch, of Burke Law Offices, of Evanston.