A takeaway has been forced to boycott Just Eat after they had to refund a customer following an alleged complaint that their ice cream was 'too cold'.
Hassan Habib, co-owner of Lucky's in Oldham, Greater Manchester, says they've been forking out several hundred pounds each month on 'scam' refunds.
Taking to Facebook, the business wrote: "Hey guys, We’re sorry for any inconvenience it may cause but we won’t be available on Just Eat for deliveries anymore!
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"There’s a scam going on Just Eat for past few weeks and we just can’t carry on like this as a small business, we have taken it up with Just Eat numerous times like a lot of other small independent businesses but we had no support whatsoever which is very sad and unfair..
"Its extremely difficult as it is at the moment to run a legitimate business in food industry, this scam makes it impossible for us to survive."
They went on: "Anyone can make an account on Just Eat, place an order and then claim the full refund, no questions asked Just Eat then simply makes a full refund and leaves the restaurant/takeaway to bare the full cost.
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"We understand things can go wrong, when they do we bend backwards to put things right!
"We are fully aware that this decision is going to make a huge impact on our business but we simply have no other choice."
They explained that they pay nearly 20 percent commission and order charges to Just Eat but would rather give that as a discount to customers that order directly through the website.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Habib said: "We can see how many orders someone’s made on Just Eat or with us and I’ve seen someone who’s ordered food from us and they’ve never placed an order on Just Eat before.
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"They ordered four milkshakes, a cheesecake, and an ice cream and 45 minutes later they put in a refund request because the food was cold.
"That’s just one of the many examples - they just order food, put down ‘X, Y, Z’ is wrong with it, do a refund and leave us to the costs."
In a statement issued to the MEN, a Just Eat spokesperson said: "Just Eat is only successful if our restaurant partners are successful and we have a track record of helping restaurants prosper.
"The recent measures we’ve put in place are in line with industry standards and are to ensure an even fairer refunds process for all, such as increasing the time for restaurants to raise any disputes.
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"Restaurant partners are always refunded in full when we find any fraudulent activity taking place.
"We’re keen to maintain an open dialogue with the restaurants on our platform and continue to review our policies and processes in this space to support both customers and restaurants alike."
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Lucky’s OldhamTopics: News, UK News, Food And Drink