Alleging the exact type of primBusiness practices one might expect from a couple of well-known food distribution apps for scamming restaurants from their money earned during a pandemic, the city of Chicago filed two separate lawsuits against for Dash i Grubhub Friday for accusing them of intentionally cheating customers and restaurants.
Both lawsuits allege that the platforms advertise business delivery services without the consent or approval of the owners, deliberately hiding the fact that restaurants often sell their food directly to customers at lower prices if they directly request the business. The city is also accusing the platforms of implementing a “recreation and disruption” tactic that attracts customers with the promise of low delivery rates. collection of surcharges at the last minute, and of covertly deploying marketing campaigns during the pandemic in which phone numbers are listed for local restaurants without them knowing it just to make them pay the bill at false “promotional” costs.
In accordance with CNBC, both platforms have referred to the pair of lawsuits as “baseless”, arguing that they have policies to remove restaurants that do not want to appear on the list whenever the business owner requests it and that they were able to contribute $ 500,000 at Chicago restaurants. during the pandemic.
A DoorDash spokesman told CNBC that the platform “has been alongside the city of Chicago throughout the pandemic, waiving restaurant fees, providing $ 500,000 in direct subsidies, creating strong profit opportunities and delivering food and other needs in the communities that need it “.
He large commissions that food delivery apps take from the restaurants they host long scrutiny, especially during a pandemic that has forced thousands of companies to close permanently. More recently, food delivery workers have also been vocal about the ways in which platforms like Grubhub, Doordash, Seamless, and Uber Eats have eroded the basic job security and dignity that once existed when they were directly related to restaurants.
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“Things were a little better before, because at least we had an employer and we had an established schedule,” said a 37-year-old food delivery worker Gustavo Ajchee said The counter in January. “The stability that existed between the restaurant and the workers has already disappeared. No matter how busy we were, they still charged us for hours. With apps, you only get paid when you make a delivery. If there is no delivery, there is no money. “
The way Doordash handles in particular the advice for delivery drivers was the subject of an independent lawsuit by the District of Columbia Attorney General, which the company resolved. in November for $ 2.5 million.