A Belfast takeaway owner says he is ditching using Just Eat for orders after claiming the business is losing hundreds of pounds due to a change to the compensation scheme.
James Fennell, who owns Leo's Burritos on the Glen Road, has told Belfast Live that he will no longer be using the online ordering platform due to the amount of money that he is losing out on due to a refund system that he says cannot be contested by takeaways.
But Just Eat has said that takeaways are still able to dispute refund claims and that restaurant partners are always refunded if the claims are unfounded or fraudulent.
Read more: Belfast takeaways urge customers to order direct due to impact of third-party ordering platforms
James said that by no longer using the service he will also be able to provide cheaper food to customers.
He said the current compensation scheme offered by Just Eat allows customers to claim a refund for their meals for a variety of reasons such as food being cold. However, he alleges this is being taken advantage of with some claiming a refund, despite there not being an issue with their meal.
When this happens he does not find out that the refund has been claimed until the following week when he receives an invoice from Just Eat.
Speaking to Belfast Live, James said: "Since Just Eat has changed its compensation scheme we are losing hundreds of pounds every week due to people claiming refunds for meals that they should not have been able to.
"We have no ability to dispute the claims and it can take up to a week before we even find out that the refunds have taken place when we receive an invoice.
"As a business, we just cannot deal with these losses and are now moving away from Just Eat, which will not only help our business but allow us to provide better prices for our customers. With Just Eat we often have to inflate our prices in order to compensate for the cut that they take from each order.
"We have now created our own app using Flipdish which we are encouraging our customers to use, which will give them the same prices that they would get if they were to walk into the store."
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.
"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."
Read more: Friends set up Belfast Eats ordering platform to help independent food and drink businesses thrive
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