Honey browser plugin controversy: Difference between revisions
Lunarthread (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
added comments detailing some thoughts on what can be added. also, where relevant, we should seek to include Honey/Paypal's response to the allegations |
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== Victim Group 1: The Consumers == | == Victim Group 1: The Consumers == | ||
Honey promises consumers that they will “search the web” for the “best deals available”. What they actually do in practice is search '''their own databases''' (lists of coupons) for coupon codes. In some cases, Honey finds a code and tells the end-user. There is no guarantee, however, that Honey actually found that user the “best” discount code. On some occasions, Honey does manage to find discount codes that business owners never meant to make publicly available. More often than not, however, Honey will “search the web” and tell the end user ‘sorry, there are no eligible coupon codes we could find’. This level of inconsistency makes it hard to trust Honey to do the job they promise to do. Further searches for lawsuits with similar claims leads to a very similar suit against Capital One regarding similar practices, contributing to what may be a pattern among these "coupon finding" browser extensions. | Honey promises consumers that they will “search the web” for the “best deals available”. What they actually do in practice is search '''their own databases''' (lists of coupons) for coupon codes.<!-- citation needed, and maybe reword for neutrality --> In some cases, Honey finds a code and tells the end-user. There is no guarantee, however, that Honey actually found that user the “best” discount code. On some occasions, Honey does manage to find discount codes that business owners never meant to make publicly available<!-- cit needed -->. More often than not,<!-- citation needed, or remove quantitative claim --> however, Honey will “search the web” and tell the end user ‘sorry, there are no eligible coupon codes we could find’. This level of inconsistency makes it hard to trust Honey to do the job they promise to do. Further searches for lawsuits with similar claims leads to a very similar suit against Capital One regarding similar practices, contributing to what may be a pattern among these "coupon finding" browser extensions.<!-- Instead of 'furtehr searches for...', just state the existence of other lawsuits, and reference appropriately --> | ||
== Victim Group 2: Business Owners & Digital Storefronts == | == Victim Group 2: Business Owners & Digital Storefronts == | ||
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There are documented instances of business owners finding what they thought were 'private' or 'one-time' discount codes being used by Honey users, building a strong incentive to "formally partner" with Honey and give PayPal their protection racket. | There are documented instances of business owners finding what they thought were 'private' or 'one-time' discount codes being used by Honey users, building a strong incentive to "formally partner" with Honey and give PayPal their protection racket. | ||
<!-- Needs changing/rewording to be understood without describing tony soprano --> | <!-- Needs changing/rewording to be understood without describing tony soprano - these kinds of analogies may be used in theme articles, but are not appropriate elsewhere --> | ||
In a layman comparison, this is like somebody walking into a sporting goods store and saying, “Hey, if you pay me $19.00 a month, I’ll have someone make sure your customers only ever see sale tags that you want them to see. If you don’t, I’m going to have those same guys look through your entire inventory, all day, every day, and tell customers exactly how they can pay you as little as possible”. | In a layman comparison, this is like somebody walking into a sporting goods store and saying, “Hey, if you pay me $19.00 a month, I’ll have someone make sure your customers only ever see sale tags that you want them to see. If you don’t, I’m going to have those same guys look through your entire inventory, all day, every day, and tell customers exactly how they can pay you as little as possible”. | ||
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When you get to the cash register, you find that the cashier is not a Big Box Store employee, but works for PayPal. The Honey representative tells you that, before you check out, they can search their system to see if they can find you a coupon, to save you even more money. This sounds great! You get to make an educated purchase, knowing that your item is the best for your needs, and you are going to pay as little as possible! What the Honey cashier did not tell you, is that they’ve replaced the Big Box Store’s employee commission slip with PayPal’s. Whether they find you a coupon or not, Honey steals the commission from the person who worked hard to know about the product and spent time and effort to sell you that product. All of their work is made irrelevant and their commission goes to PayPal, a massive corporation who will apparently stoop to a level of pettiness that belongs in a high school lunchroom. | When you get to the cash register, you find that the cashier is not a Big Box Store employee, but works for PayPal. The Honey representative tells you that, before you check out, they can search their system to see if they can find you a coupon, to save you even more money. This sounds great! You get to make an educated purchase, knowing that your item is the best for your needs, and you are going to pay as little as possible! What the Honey cashier did not tell you, is that they’ve replaced the Big Box Store’s employee commission slip with PayPal’s. Whether they find you a coupon or not, Honey steals the commission from the person who worked hard to know about the product and spent time and effort to sell you that product. All of their work is made irrelevant and their commission goes to PayPal, a massive corporation who will apparently stoop to a level of pettiness that belongs in a high school lunchroom. | ||
* ''It is this practice in particular that has attracted legal attention, as several of Honey’s victims in this instance are/were attorneys who create content about legal controversies (such as LegalEagle and America’s Attorney). | * ''It is this practice in particular that has attracted legal attention, as several of Honey’s victims in this instance are/were attorneys who create content about legal controversies (such as LegalEagle and America’s Attorney). They have documented their view on the lawsuit here: https://honeylawsuit.com/''<!-- this is a very partisan source - we shouldn't be saying 'find out more' and then linking to one half of a lawsuit. Instead, try and find some media source which has a reasonable detail of reporting on the lawsuit. | ||
== Sources/Links: == | In general though, we shouldn't even be saying to the reader 'hey, do this!' in any capacity --> | ||
== Sources/Links:<!-- needs reworking into a proper references section. also, not appropriate to signppost people to join a class action. have edited the introduction to the link to reflect this -->== | |||
* Link to the formal class action filing: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2024cv09470/441974 | * Link to the formal class action filing: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2024cv09470/441974 | ||
* Louis Rossman's video explaining the scandal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksjzI-8Rz2w | * Louis Rossman's video explaining the scandal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksjzI-8Rz2w | ||
* Original “Breaking” story by | * Original “Breaking” story by creator MegaLag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4yL3YTwWk | ||
* LegalEagle explanation of their class action lawsuit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H4sScCB1cY&pp=ygUVaG9uZXkgc2NhbmRhbCBsYXdzdWl0 | * LegalEagle explanation of their class action lawsuit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H4sScCB1cY&pp=ygUVaG9uZXkgc2NhbmRhbCBsYXdzdWl0 | ||