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The Federal Trade Commission reached a $100 million
multi-state settlement with Walmart over allegations the company deceived
customers and drivers who participated in its Spark Driver Program.
North Carolina was one of several states that sued
the company on behalf of delivery drivers and customers. As part of the
settlement, Walmart must pay its delivery drivers in North Carolina $2 million
for stealing their tips and other payments, Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced
Friday.
The retail giant will also pay another $10 million to be
refunded to delivery customers in North Carolina and nine other states. That’s
for the tips people thought they were paying individual drivers, but which
Walmart kept for itself.
“Walmart misled its drivers and its customers so that the
company could keep tips and other money that belonged to drivers,” Jackson
wrote in a news release. “I’m grateful for the federal government’s
partnership on this case to make Walmart pay back millions for North Carolina
drivers.”
Walmart has run the Spark Driver program since 2018.
Customers can use the Spark App to order products from
Walmart for home delivery, and people can sign up to be drivers on the app.
Drivers pick up products from Walmart stores and deliver them to customers, and
they use the app to view and select offers to complete deliveries for payment.
These offers include an estimate of how much the driver will earn from the
delivery, including the base amount Walmart will pay the driver and any pre-tip
the customer has selected to pay.
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