DoorDash, Grubhub sued by Chicago for alleged unfair practices during pandemic

Food delivery companies DoorDash and Grubhub have been sued by city of Chicago in United States. y are being accused of using misleing and unfair techniques to harm restaurants during COVID-19 pandemic, according to lawsuit. companies are accused of a series of wrongdoings in two separate lawsuits. Falsely vertising delivery services for restaurants without ir authorization, charging consumers misleing fees, and disguising costs y ded to a meal are all instances of misconduct.

DoorDash, Grubhub sued by Chicago for unfair practices during COVID-19 pandemic 

complaint was filed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot with Acting Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Commissioner Kenneth Meyer and corporation counsel Celia Meza. According to reports, Mayor expressed concern and regret that se companies disobeyed law during se very tough times, in middle of COVID-19 pandemic and taking vant of restaurants and consumers who were battling to stay afloat.

Claims by lawsuit against Grubhub

lawsuits are said to be result of collaboration between BACP and Chicago Law Department. y me ir claims based on Chicago Municipal Code, but y also brought up events that have been dressed in previous lawsuits and public controversies. In Grubhub's lawsuit, for example, claim argues that company's widely panned Supper for Support campaign was so deceptive that it was forced to release national correction remarks. claim also points out Grubhub's practice of publishing phone numbers that route callers to restaurants while discreetly ding ir own costs, as well as creating impostor versions of restaurant websites, among many or concerns. 

Grubhub's response

allegations were dismissed by Grubhub. y expressed ir disappointment with Mayor Lightfoot's choice to file this lawsuit. y went on to say that every single claim is false and that y will aggressively defend ir business operations. According to reports, y stated that y are looking forward to replying in court and are convinced that y will succeed. Grubhub also stated that it stopped taking phone orders on August 23. Orders can be placed via phone though, through a representative. websites mentioned in claim are longer being me by company. 

Grubhub's history 

This is second recent government lawsuit against Grubhub. In July, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey sued it for allegedly exceeding a local 15% cap on fees to restaurants. This charge is also present in Chicago complaint. Grubhub Inc. is an American online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platform. It is owned by Just Eat Takeaway that connects diners with local restaurants. Grubhub is based in Chicago, Illiis and was founded in 2004. Grubhub Seamless is publicly tred on  New York Stock Exchange. It was acquired by Just Eat Takeaway last year for 7.3 billion USD in stock. re have been multiple lawsuits against company previously as well. Some of lawsuits are:

• Lawson vs. Grubhub 
• Wallace v. Grubhub Holdings 
• Davitashvili v GrubHub Inc.

Claims by lawsuit against DoorDash

DoorDash is similarly accused of getting around Chicago’s 15% cap with a $1.50 Chicago Fee that misleingly conveyed to consumers that city was imposing this fee and receiving money. lawsuit also mentions DoorDash's tipping policy. company collected tips to pay drivers' existing salaries rar than passing m on as a bonus. In 2019, DoorDash anunced that it would amend its policy. According to lawsuit, DoorDash misled Chicago customers into believing that y were using DoorDash Platform's 'tip' feature to enhance income of driver who delivered ir food, in dition to base pay offered by DoorDash. Inste, DoorDash mostly exploited customer's 'tip' to fund its own agreed-upon payment to driver, according to reports.

DoorDash's response

suit's claims were similarly rejected by DoorDash. lawsuit, y said, was baseless and a waste of taxpayer funds. y claimed that Chicago residents should be angry. According to a report, DoorDash said that y have supported City of Chicago during pandemic by waiving restaurant fees, offering $500,000 in direct funding, generating excellent employment opportunities, and delivering food and or needs to areas that required it. Hours after anuncement of this suit, DoorDash consumer platform crashed. Netizens put up several tweets about it, expressing ir emotions on app being down.

DoorDash's history 

With a 56% market share, DoorDash is largest food delivery company in United States. It also has a 60% market share in convenience delivery category. It is also currently a publicly tred company, listed on New York Stock Exchange. DoorDash has also h previous lawsuits and controversies. DoorDash paid $2.5 million to settle a tipping policy complaint in Washington, DC last year. re was ackwledgement of wrongdoing in settlement. It was also previously accused of withholding tips from drivers, exorbitant fees from consumers and a data breach as well. data breach was confirmed by company, in 2019.

(IM: SHUTTERSTOCK)