Well, the person saw the price of the value meal on the menu and decided to get it. I don’t have a ton of sympathy for them that they could have saved a few cents by ordering differently – they got exactly what they paid for, at exactly the price they expected.

On the other hand, according to 16 CFR 233.5, “In all of these situations, as well as in others too numerous to mention, advertisers should make certain that the bargain offer is genuine and truthful. Doing so will serve their own interest as well as that of the public.” I think by offering a “value” meal, McDonald’s is representing that it is, in fact, a value compared to their normal pricing. Offering a value meal that costs more is like a store putting up a “Sale” sign and then marking the price up instead of reducing it.

I am assuming from the context that the “Value Meal” reported on is different from a “Happy Meal.”

Have you been to a McDonalds recently? They have digitized their menu displays behind the serving counter. That would be fine if all it meant was an easy switch-over from the breakfast menu to the lunch menu. But they also keep changing the lunch menu around every few seconds, so that the only items easy to find and price are the packages that they are currently pushing. (KFC is even worse in this regard.)

I am all in favor of consumer choice in a free market, but grow a bit skeptical when modern technology is deliberately used to confuse the consumer.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

I too might have assumed that the bundled price was better and been mentally lazy to run the numbers. And for that I would deserve to pay an extra 41 cents.