Curry house slams Uber Eats after after false refund claims

Restaurateur Saiful Islam was shocked to find the food ordering app had immediately given the customer a full refund without checking whether the food had been delivered by Balti Mahal.

The order was made on Saturday but the claim was not made until Tuesday despite the restaurant on Astwood Road having rigorous checks and records in place.

Mr Islam said: "It's happened about five or six times now.

"We understand people claiming for missing items, it's understandable, but under Just Eat or Deliveroo they tell you straight away a customer is missing an item and gives you the opportunity to contact the customer.

"If we have made a mistake then we can give the money back or arrange to deliver the missing item.

"Uber Eats doesn't contact us they straight away give the refund to the customer.

"Even two weeks later they have given a refund to a customer."

After contacting Uber Eats, Mr Islam claims they told him they believe they were "100 per cent correct" in refunding the customer.

However, it has later accepted the takeaway was delivered and said it would refund the business.

A spokesman for Uber said they would be in touch with Balti Mahal to discuss the matter.

Mr Islam continued: "Occasionally there might be one or two items missing but this customer claimed the whole £45 order was missing.

Mazedul Hasan Shakil (Left) and Saiful Islam outside the Balti Mahal Restaurant.

"I absolutely trust my driver, he has been with us a long time and he remembers the delivery.

"I can see that he delivered the items at 8pm - it's recorded on his mobile and on the sat nav location.

"The vast majority of our customers - 99.9 per cent - are wonderful but it seems that nowadays some people are being dishonest."

He said that deliveries go through three checks to make sure all items are present before they are delivered - once by the chef, by a waiter and then by the driver.

Mr Islam said: "We are very, very careful because I know if you order and something even small is missing you are going to be upset.

"We are struggling. We are a small business and have had a hard time over the last year and still we're trying to recover from that.

"The fact that this is happening is really frustrating.

"It feels like Uber Eats is encouraging people to be dishonest by operating in this way.

"I imagine big businesses like McDonald's get this a lot more but we are only a small business and we can't afford it."

An Uber spokesperson said: "Uber Eats is committed to providing the best platform for consumers and restaurants alike.

"We have measures in place to protect against fraudulent delivery recipients – if a merchant would like to dispute a refund, they may get in touch through our website.

"We are contacting this restaurant to address their concerns."