You Might Be Due A Coffee & Donut Following A Tim Hortons Class Action Settlement

It's all about geolocation tracking, in an illegal way.

The facade of a Tim Hortons store in Montreal.

The facade of a Tim Hortons store in Montreal.

Staff Writer

In a breathtaking display of legal acumen, a class action lawsuit against Tim Hortons has won the grand prize of... one coffee and one pastry for each affected individual.

"Affected by what?" you may ask. Well, if you downloaded and registered for the Tim's app between April 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, it's possible that your geolocation data was used illegally. Call that a peeping Tim. Or not, up to you.

And if that's you, you're owed one hot beverage and a pastry for your troubles. Yes, seriously. It's part of a settlement first proposed in 2022 that has since been accepted, according to an email sent to affected customers on February 1, 2023.

That means if you received the email, you're eligible for the compensation Tim Hortons is offering. According to Narcity, the email explained that the credit customers received can be used on any baked good that costs up to $2.39. This includes croissants, muffins, biscuits and more cheap pastries.

As for your complimentary hot drink, it can cost you only up to $6.19... plus tax.

Back when the settlement was first proposed, Twitter users were up in arms complaining about the apparently insufficient consequence for, you know, tracking people illegally using their phones. "I swear to f*cking god," one Twitter user wrote, "This is real."

But when you're enjoying the taste of a free coffee and a free doughnut, those lines of good and bad seem so much blurrier. Maybe it's all that sugar.

  • Willa Holt
  • Creator

    Willa Holt (they/she) was a Creator for MTL Blog. They have edited for Ricochet Media and The McGill Daily, with leadership experience at the Canadian University Press. They have an undergraduate degree in anthropology with a minor in French translation, and they are the proud owner of a trilingual cat named Ivy.

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