Home topics news Image credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm News News ACCC takes meal kit giants to court over confusing subscription practices Yajush Gupta December 18, 2025 Federal Court proceedings reveal tens of thousands charged for meal deliveries they tried to cancel, raising concerns about subscription practices What’s happening : The ACCC has commenced separate Federal Court proceedings against HelloFresh and Youfoodz for allegedly misleading consumers over subscriptions. Both companies, owned by HelloFresh SE, allegedly breached Australian Consumer Law by charging 101,469 customers despite cancellations before specified cut-off times, making cancellation difficult despite promises of easy online account management. Why this matters: The proceedings signal increased scrutiny on subscription-based business models, with the ACCC seeking compensation orders for affected consumers, penalties, compliance programmes and costs from both companies. Australia’s meal delivery industry faces court scrutiny as the competition watchdog alleges two major providers trapped thousands of customers in unwanted subscriptions. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has commenced separate proceedings in the Federal Court against home meal delivery providers Grocery Delivery E-Services Australia Pty Ltd, trading as HelloFresh, and Youfoodz Pty Ltd for allegedly misleading consumers over subscriptions. The ACCC alleges that HelloFresh and Youfoodz, which are both owned by HelloFresh SE, breached the Australian Consumer Law by advertising on their websites and apps that new customers could easily cancel subscriptions through their online account settings as long as they did so before a specified cut-off time. In fact, when many consumers tried to cancel their subscription online prior to