A skier heads up the Resolution lift at Copper Mountain. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Copper Mountain Resort faces a possible class action lawsuit for allegedly hiding a 7% surcharge on food, drink and retail sales from skiers and snowboarders there.
Gary Chaney, an Adams County man, says that he and at least 10,000 others have been tricked into paying more than expected in the popular ski area’s cafeteria, coffee shop and stores, as well as at a Conoco gas station off Interstate 70 that Copper Mountain owns.
“Skiing and snowboarding have become increasingly expensive. But at POWDR’s Copper Mountain Resort, they are even more expensive than it seems,” his lawsuit states.
“Although POWDR can use its revenue how it pleases, it cannot deceive consumers into believing they are paying less than the actual price of sale,” he alleges of the resort’s parent company. “That practice is deceptive and anti-competitive. And it needs to stop.”
POWDR, based in Utah, bought Copper in 2009. It also owns Eldora Mountain Resort.
“We are aware of the suit against Copper and are reviewing it with our legal counsel,” Stacey Hutchinson, the vice president of communications at POWDR, said this week.
“We firmly believe that this lawsuit is entirely baseless,” Hutchinson told BusinessDen.
Chaney says he learned of Copper’s hidden surcharge in January while buying a $4.50 coffee. After using a 10-percent-off coupon, he was surprised to be paying $4.61. So, when he returned a few weeks later, he asked for the receipt and saw “Copper Mtn Resort Surcharge.”
As Chaney began requesting receipts around the resort this ski season — he says receipts are never given unless a customer asks for them — he noticed the surcharge added to burgers and pretzel bites and coffee. Chaney was most surprised to see it assessed on an energy drink he bought at the gas station at I-70 and Highway 91. His receipt listed it as “RSC.”
“Nowhere within the Conoco is there any mention of the Copper Mountain Resort surcharge. In fact, most customers would have no reason to believe they were shopping at a business owned or operated by POWDR or associated with Copper,” his May 12 lawsuit alleges.
Chaney says the charge is usually 7% but increases to 9% over spring break.
His lawsuit accuses Copper of breach of contract and violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. His lawyers, Mirko Kruse and Stephen Hennessy with Hennessy Kruse, are asking Summit County Judge Reed Owens to make it a class action case.
A skier heads up the Resolution lift at Copper Mountain. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Copper Mountain Resort faces a possible class action lawsuit for allegedly hiding a 7% surcharge on food, drink and retail sales from skiers and snowboarders there.
Gary Chaney, an Adams County man, says that he and at least 10,000 others have been tricked into paying more than expected in the popular ski area’s cafeteria, coffee shop and stores, as well as at a Conoco gas station off Interstate 70 that Copper Mountain owns.
“Skiing and snowboarding have become increasingly expensive. But at POWDR’s Copper Mountain Resort, they are even more expensive than it seems,” his lawsuit states.
“Although POWDR can use its revenue how it pleases, it cannot deceive consumers into believing they are paying less than the actual price of sale,” he alleges of the resort’s parent company. “That practice is deceptive and anti-competitive. And it needs to stop.”
POWDR, based in Utah, bought Copper in 2009. It also owns Eldora Mountain Resort.
“We are aware of the suit against Copper and are reviewing it with our legal counsel,” Stacey Hutchinson, the vice president of communications at POWDR, said this week.
“We firmly believe that this lawsuit is entirely baseless,” Hutchinson told BusinessDen.
Chaney says he learned of Copper’s hidden surcharge in January while buying a $4.50 coffee. After using a 10-percent-off coupon, he was surprised to be paying $4.61. So, when he returned a few weeks later, he asked for the receipt and saw “Copper Mtn Resort Surcharge.”
As Chaney began requesting receipts around the resort this ski season — he says receipts are never given unless a customer asks for them — he noticed the surcharge added to burgers and pretzel bites and coffee. Chaney was most surprised to see it assessed on an energy drink he bought at the gas station at I-70 and Highway 91. His receipt listed it as “RSC.”
“Nowhere within the Conoco is there any mention of the Copper Mountain Resort surcharge. In fact, most customers would have no reason to believe they were shopping at a business owned or operated by POWDR or associated with Copper,” his May 12 lawsuit alleges.
Chaney says the charge is usually 7% but increases to 9% over spring break.
His lawsuit accuses Copper of breach of contract and violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. His lawyers, Mirko Kruse and Stephen Hennessy with Hennessy Kruse, are asking Summit County Judge Reed Owens to make it a class action case.
