A Karnataka consumer court has ruled that Zomato must compensate a woman from Dharwad with Rs 60,000 due to their failure to deliver her online order of momos last year. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Dharwad issued this order on July 3.
Sheethal ordered momos through Zomato on August 31, 2023, and paid Rs 133.25 via G-Pay. Despite receiving a message confirming delivery 15 minutes after placing the order, Sheethal claimed she did not receive her order nor did any delivery agent visit her residence.
Upon contacting the restaurant, she was informed that the delivery agent had collected the order. Her attempts to contact the agent through the Zomato website were unsuccessful. Sheethal then lodged a complaint with Zomato via email on the same day but received only an intimation asking her to wait 72 hours for a response.
Failing to receive any further communication from Zomato, Sheethal sent a legal notice to the platform on September 13, 2023. In response, Zomato’s counsel appeared in court and refuted the allegations.
However, the court noted that despite Zomato requesting 72 hours to address the complaint, they failed to do so by the time the complaint was filed, casting doubt on their response.
Earlier this year, on May 18, Sheethal received a refund of Rs 133.25 from Zomato. The commission viewed this as evidence that Zomato had provided deficient service, causing significant inconvenience and mental distress to the complainant.
“Zomato operates by fulfilling online orders placed by customers. Despite receiving payment, Zomato failed to deliver the ordered product to the complainant. Based on these facts, Zomato alone is liable to respond to the complainant’s claim,” the commission stated in its order.
President of the commission, Eshappa K Bhute, directed Zomato to pay Sheethal Rs 50,000 as compensation for the inconvenience and mental distress caused, along with Rs 10,000 towards her litigation costs.