Momos Costs Rs 60,000: Trouble Mounts For Zomato After Karnataka Consumer Court Ordered THIS

Momos is one of the favourite food items in India and people love eating it any time of the day, but how much a plate of Zomato can cost. For one plate of Momos, Zomato has to pay a sum of 60,000 rupees, but not for eating instead of an undelivered order which was placed online last year. -

In a landmark ruling, the Karnataka Consumer Court has ordered food delivery company Zomato to pay ₹60,000 as compensation to a woman from Dharwad for an undelivered order of momos. The verdict, delivered on July 3 by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Dharwad, has highlighted the company's failure to address customer grievances effectively.

The case dates back to August 31, 2023, when Sheetal, a resident of Dharwad, placed an order for momos through the Zomato app, paying ₹133.25 via Google Pay. However, despite receiving a message confirming the delivery, no delivery agent showed up at her doorstep, nor did she receive her order.

Efforts to trace the order revealed that the delivery agent had picked it up from the restaurant, but subsequent attempts to contact the agent through the Zomato website were met with silence. Sheetal immediately reached out to Zomato via email, only to be asked to wait for 72 hours for a resolution. When her queries remained unanswered, she issued a legal notice to the company on September 13, 2023.

During the court proceedings, Zomato's counsel denied all allegations, calling them "false and created." However, the court noted that Zomato's initial promise to resolve the issue within 72 hours was not honoured, undermining the company's defence.

Although Sheetal eventually received a refund of ₹133.25 on May 2, 2024, the commission found Zomato guilty of providing poor service and causing significant mental stress to the complainant. The commission's release stated, “Zomato is carrying their business of supply of materials in response to the online orders placed by the customer. Despite receipt of the purchase money, Zomato did not deliver the required product to the complainant.”

President of the commission, Eshappa K Bhute, passed the judgement, stating, "Keeping in mind these aspects, we deem it proper to direct Op No. 1 to pay ₹50,000 as compensation for inconvenience and mental agony caused to the complainant and her litigation cost at ₹10,000."