BUFFALO, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Coca-Cola is being sued in federal court because it directs rewards points to the American Red Cross.
Glenn Coe’s class action lawsuit filed June 6 in Buffalo, N.Y., federal court calls Coke rewards “trading stamps.” He is represented by attorney Spencer Sheehan.
The suit says Coca-Cola’s rewards program began with customers redeeming bottle caps for movie tickets and gift cards, but it was changed to eliminate or reduce the frequency of prices.
Instead, customers redeemed points to participate in raffles and contests. Now, the program no longer provides any things of value, the suit says.
“Instead, customers are only able to donate their accumulated rewards to pre-selected charities, such as the American Red Cross,” the suit says. “While Americans have one of the highest personal charitable donation rates in the world, this is based on their own generosity and ability to choose the organizations they support.”
The suit says trading stamps were an early form of loyalty programs. They were small paper stamps issued to customers but were outlawed by New York, the suit says.
The rewards program is a modern-day trading stamp system, Sheehan’s case says.