Fivefold surge in complaints against food delivery apps as more Hongkongers stay home amid coronavirus pandemic
- Most customers seeking Consumer Council’s help unhappy with issues ranging from wrong orders to poor service quality
- Watchdog warns operators to improve standards but also advises users to be cautious about terms and conditions
Complaints against food delivery apps surged fivefold in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, with customers unhappy about service quality and even claiming they received orders from the wrong brand, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has found.
The Consumer Council recorded 172 complaints against food delivery platforms in the first half of this year, compared with 34 similar complaints over the same period last year.
Most of the cases were related to delayed or unsuccessful deliveries and missing orders.
“With more people stuck at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in demand for food delivery services which have become a new normal for many consumers,” said Nora Tam Fung-yee, chairwoman of the council’s research and testing committee.
In one of the unnamed complaints highlighted by the council, a customer ordered 13 types of beverages, including milk tea and fruit juices, paying HK$421 by credit card on a food delivery platform, but the contents of the package were leaking by the time it reached its destination.