Chipping away at the change

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is facing claims that it is short-changing its customers. Literally.

A lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed Thursday in a courthouse in Pennsylvania, contending that several area restaurants are keeping the change, literally, collecting hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars in consumer losses, TRIBlive.com reported.

The suit, accessed by the media site, alleges that within the last week Pennsylvania customers were not given the change they were entitled to when they paid their bills. In one case a customer provided $20 of a $15.51 bill and was only given $4 in change.

A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office told TRIBlive.com that they have received five complaints similar to those filed in the lawsuit. The lawyer representing the plaintiffs said he expects Chipotle to defend its actions by blaming the national coin shortage.