Thanks a latte! Woman sues Starbucks for $5 million for putting too much ice in her drinks 

  • Lead plaintiff Stacy Pincus has filed a class action lawsuit against Starbucks for damages exceeding $5 million
  • She claims that the coffee company underfills all its iced drinks by a little less than 50 percent because of all of the ice
  • She wants to represent anyone who bought an iced drink from the franchise in the past 10 years
  • Starbucks counters that it has to put ice in iced drinks

By Kiri Blakeley For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:41 EST, 30 April 2016 | Updated: 16:16 EST, 30 April 2016

Starbucks is too icy with its customers, says a woman who is suing the coffee chain for putting too many frozen cubes in its iced drinks.

Lead plaintiff Stacy Pincus has filed a $5million class action lawsuit against Starbucks for filling its cups with so much frozen water that customers are only getting half of what they're paying for, says the lawsuit, represented by Steven Hart with Hart, McLaughlin & Eldridge in Chicago, according to Court House News.

The company sells sizes in Tall (12 oz.), Grande (16 oz.), Venti (24 oz.) and Trenta (30 oz.), and the fluid ounces are advertised in the store. 

Starbucks iced drinks are some of its most popular offerings but one woman says that the company is being sneaky with its drinks, and serving only one half of what the advertisements promise

Starbucks iced drinks are some of its most popular offerings but one woman says that the company is being sneaky with its drinks, and serving only one half of what the advertisements promise

However, once the barista adds ice, customers get a little over half those promised amounts, alleges Pincus - never mind that they pay for the full amount.

In addition, the Seattle-based company charges more for iced drinks than for hot drinks and makes higher profits off of them. In 2014, the iced tea was its most profitable product, says the lawsuit.  

'In essence, Starbucks is advertising the size of its cold drink cups on its menu, rather than the amount of fluid a customer will receive when they purchase a cold drink - and deceiving its customers in the process,' state the court documents, filed in Illinois.

If you take all of the ice out of a Starbucks drink, you get a little more than half of what you pay for, says lead plaintiff Stacy Pincus, in court documents 

If you take all of the ice out of a Starbucks drink, you get a little more than half of what you pay for, says lead plaintiff Stacy Pincus, in court documents 

Starbucks says that customers should expect that ice is an essential component of every iced drink, and therefore the lawsuit is without merit, according to TMZ. The company also said it would remake the drink of any customer who asked. 

However, Pincus charges that the coffee franchise could make its cups larger, thus solving the issue.

Pincus wants to represent anyone who has bought a Starbucks iced drink in the past ten years.

She accuses Starbucks of breach of express warranty, breach of implied warrant of merchantability, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and fraud.

Last month, Starbucks was sued for skimping on its hot drinks. Two California residents, Siera Strumlauf and Benjamin Robles, claimed that Starbucks knowingly underfilled its lattes by 25 percent less than what was promised.

  

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