A Massachusetts Superior Court ruled Thursday that Grubhub had overcharged for its delivery services early in the pandemic by tacking a credit-card processing fees onto the maximum commission permitted by the state on to-go orders. The decision came in a lawsuit filed against Grubhub by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office in July 2021. The action …
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At the height of the pandemic, numerous US cities from New York to Las Vegas cracked down on the commission fees food delivery companies charged restaurants. Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub charged as much as 30% per order. Restaurants saw food-delivery apps as a lifeline when their dining rooms were closed, but they also complained …
Continue reading “Food delivery price caps are starting to unravel”
by Robert Swinney, Duke University — January 13, 2023 . DURHAM – The rise of food-delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats provided a lifeline for restaurants during the pandemic. The relationship, though, seems to have soured of late, as people slowly resume their eating-out habits. One reason is an inherent flaw in the revenue-sharing contracts between the …
Continue reading “Food delivery wars: Duke professor says there’s a better way”
New York City could loosen its limits on the fees third-party delivery companies charge restaurants. Under a bill sponsored by 17 New York City Council members, providers would be able to charge restaurants more than they’re currently allowed to for things like marketing and promotions. Restaurants could opt in to the additional fees. The existing …
Uber Eats agreed to pay the city of Chicago $10 million as a legal settlement for listing Chicago restaurants in both Uber’s and Postmates’ apps without the restaurants’ consent, according to reporting from the Chicago Tribune on Dec. 5. The legal agreement is the result of a two-year investigation into Uber’s practices and the company was found …
Last year, the city of Chicago sued both DoorDash and Gruhub, accusing the third-party delivery couriers in separate filings of illegal business operations. Allegations include accusing Grubhub of ignoring the city’s pandemic emergency fee cap and both platforms for listing restaurants on ordering platforms without their consent. Somehow, Uber Eats escaped the city’s legal fury, but …
Continue reading “Uber Eats and Chicago Reach $10 Million Settlement Over Deceptive Practices”
Whether you’re a policy professional, restaurant owner, delivery driver or just someone who loves takeout, you may want to turn your attention to a few legal battles across the country. During the pandemic, at least 78 cities, counties and states in the U.S. have introduced temporary price controls restricting delivery companies from charging high commission fees to …
Continue reading “How policies ‘protecting’ small restaurants from delivery apps are backfiring”
Dive Brief: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance Tuesday exempting companies from the city’s 15% delivery fee cap if said companies offer restaurants and other clients a “core delivery service” that costs 15% or less than the price of an online order. The ordinance, according to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ website, has …
Continue reading “San Francisco weakens 15% delivery fee cap”
The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday to permanently implement a 15% cap on the fees that services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and others charge restaurants for food delivery. The cap has been in place since April 2020, when it was implemented as part of an emergency order at the onset of the pandemic. It was meant to …
Next week the San Francisco Board of Supervisors could approve a new law allowing restaurants to pay higher delivery fees to apps like DoorDash and Grubhub in exchange for better visibility and more promotion. The legislation would essentially codify a loophole to the city’s first-of-its-kind permanent 15 percent cap on the fees restaurants pay to third-party delivery …
