Legal Question in Business Law in California

First thing is to report to the Better Business Bureau. Second, report to the Chamber of Commerce. You might even try the Franchise Tax Board.

Contact me at my website, fill out the mail form and we can discuss your options, including class action (long shot). I am sure this has happened to others besides you. We need to gather up these people. This is not right. I have a grocery store that does the same thing. Luckily, I always check my receipt before leaving even if the person(s) behind me in line are in a big hurry.

I don't think the long shot of a class action is quite so long. I do think it would take a tremendous amount of work. It is the best shot at getting the company to no longer do this detestable nickel and dining of their customers. At best it is a repeated mistake, at worst it is theft.

Call me to discuss your options, and for any other questions you may have regarding this matter.

I disagree with the previous answers. I suspect that this franchise has a minor programming error in their cash-register software. You'd have a monumental task amassing credible evidence that the overcharges were deliberate. Filing a class-action (at great expense to yourself) would prod the McDonalds into fixing the problem, but would't ever bring you sudden wealth.

Mr. Whipple is probably right that this was initially the result of an unintentional error. But the restaurant continues overcharging even after you alerted it to the problem, so its ongoing conduct seems intentional to me. But the problem may be limited to this one restaurant, and even there it may only happen on a small fraction of orders. If I'm right about that, then the case may be too small to justify a class action.

Bear in mind that many McDonald's restaurants are franchises which are not owned by the McDonald's corporation. When a franchisee does something wrong without the franchisor's knowledge, then only the franchisee would be liable. A single franchisee might own several restaurants, but it would still be a relatively small business.

If your goal is to fix the problem rater than to profit from it, then you may want to contact your regional McDonald's office. The company will almost surely take corrective action.