Zomato and McDonald's fined Rs 1 lakh for delivering non-vegetarian food to vegetarian customer

Online food delivery giant Zomato and fast-food major McDonald’s have been jointly slapped with a hefty fine of Rs 1 lakh by the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum in Jodhpur for delivering non-vegetarian items in a vegetarian order.

The complainant, a vegetarian, had ordered a vegetarian burger from McDonald's through Zomato. However, when he received the order, he discovered that it contained non-vegetarian items.

The complainant complained to Zomato and McDonald's, but they did not take any action. He then filed a complaint with the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum in Jodhpur.

The forum held Zomato and McDonald's jointly liable for the mistake. It directed them to pay Rs 1 lakh in compensation to the complainant, along with Rs 5,000 in litigation costs.

Zomato, however, said that it intends to appeal against the District Commission’s order as the food delivery platform, in its argument, said that it is “merely a facilitator for the sale of food” and should not be held responsible for any wrong delivery of order or order mismatch.

In a similar case, an Officer-in-charge at a Lucknow police station reported that an FIR has been filed against a local restaurant and a delivery agent for accidentally delivering chilli chicken to a customer who had ordered chilli paneer.

The alleged incident happened on October 9, leaving the customer, Rakesh Kumar Shastri and his family distressed. Shastri, a vegetarian himself, hadn't expected such negligence from the restaurant. He filed a complaint stating that he and his family were served the incorrect order. As a result, the restaurant owner and the delivery executive were charged under severe negligence.

Last year, Zomato was ordered to pay Rs 8,362 as compensation to a customer after the company failed to deliver the order. The student from Kerala had ordered food from Zomato but he didn't get the order or the refund for his food. The student further added that he placed two separate orders the same night and did not get any of them delivered. As a result, the consumer court had ordered Zomato to pay Rs 8,362 as compensation to the student.

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