Zomato and McDonald’s were collectively penalized with a fine of INR 1 lakh for erroneously delivering non-vegetarian items to a customer who had requested vegetarian food. The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum in Jodhpur has mandated that Zomato and McDonald’s compensate the customer with an amount of INR 1 lakh due to the incorrect food order they received.
Additionally, the consumer has been granted INR 5,000 in litigation costs. Both the financial penalty and the cost of litigation will be shared equally by Zomato and McDonald’s.
The incident involves a customer who made a purchase from McDonald’s, and the delivery was facilitated by Zomato. The customer discovered that instead of the vegetarian items they had ordered, non-vegetarian items were delivered. The District Commission ruled that both Zomato and McDonald’s are required to collectively compensate the customer with INR 1 lakh.
Nonetheless, Zomato has expressed its intention to challenge the decision of the District Commission. The food delivery platform has asserted that it acts solely as a facilitator for food sales and cannot be held liable for incorrect deliveries or order mismatches.
In a similar case, an FIR was registered against a restaurant and its delivery agent in Lucknow. The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by Rakesh Kumar Shastri, who alleged that he and his family received the wrong order on October 9, with the restaurant delivering chilli chicken instead of the ordered chilli paneer.
