New DoorDash fee irks Clark County commissioner
DoorDash is charging a new fee for Clark County deliveries, and County Commissioner Tick Segerblom isn’t happy about it. In fact, he called out the company in a tweet on Tuesday night, threatening possible legal action.
Segerblom has been at the forefront of legal efforts to limit fees that third-party delivery apps may charge restaurants in unincorporated Clark County. In August, the commission passed an emergency ordinance, introduced by Segerblom, that capped those fees at 15 percent. After learning that Grubhub was relying on ambiguity in the ordinance’s wording to charge higher fees, he led a successful effort to close that loophole with an amendment that was passed this month.
Hearing that DoorDash is adding a “Clark County Fee” of $2 to all orders in the county, he took to Twitter, writing in part, “fyi door dash, clark county doesn’t charge a fee, although we may be asking for attorney ‘fees’ when we sue you for misrepresentation.”
so doordash is adding $2 to its delivery service charge calling it a "clark county fee." fyi door dash, clark county doesn't charge a fee, although we may be asking for attorney "fees" when we sue you for misrepresentation
— Tick Segerblom (@tsegerblom) November 25, 2020
The fee at issue is not charged to restaurants, but directly to customers placing delivery orders. It’s described on the app as simply a “Clark County Fee,” although customers who click on the info button next to the charge receive the following, more detailed, explanation:
“Clark County has temporarily capped the fees that we may charge to local restaurants. To continue to offer you convenient delivery while ensuring that Dashers are active and earning, you will now see a charge added to Clark County orders.” 
Speaking to the Review-Journal on Wednesday, Segerblom said he heard about the fee in a tweet from local restaurateur Kristen Corral, owner of two Tacotarian restaurants.
“On the bill (in Corral’s tweet), it said Clark County Fees, two dollars,” Segerblom explained. “If they want to charge fees, that’s questionable. But certainly, to call it a Clark County fee kind of misrepresents who we are.”
After learning the fee was charged to customers rather than restaurants, and hearing DoorDash’s explanation, Segerblom conceded it may not fall under the fee-cap ordinance, but remained unhappy with both the imposition of a new fee, and its labeling. 
“It was not our intent that they would add fees,” Segerblom said. “But our ordinance was directed to the restaurants. So to the extent it doesn’t come out of the restaurants’ charges, that’s less problematic. But I guess my concern is that it says ‘Clark County,’ making it sound like we imposed the fees. If they want to say DoorDash wants to charge you two dollars, that’s one thing. But to blame us, I think, is inappropriate.”
When asked about the fees, a DoorDash spokeswoman issued a statement that reads, in part, “In select cities where lawmakers have imposed pricing regulations, DoorDash is considering various measures necessary to offset the unintended consequences of these policies. In some cases, this means charging customers an additional fee when they order from restaurants in their city. This enables us to continue facilitating convenient delivery for customers, meaningful earning opportunities for Dashers, and valuable services that help drive orders for merchants, particularly as dine-in remains limited.”
Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.
