Court Orders Swiggy To Compensate Customer For Failing To Delivery Ice Cream: Report

A Consumer Court in Bengaluru recently directed food-tech platform Swiggy to compensate a customer for not delivering an ice cream, he ordered in 2023. As per reports, the food delivery app is ordered to pay Rs. 3,000 as compensation, apart from Rs. 2,000 as litigation costs. The Bangalore Urban II Additional District Consumer Redressal Commission also directed the platform to refund Rs. 187, the amount of the ice cream that the customer paid while placing the order.

As per sources, the complainant ordered an ice cream called 'Nutty Death By Chocolate' through Swiggy on 26th January 2023 at around 1.54 pm. The order was from the restaurant 'Cream Stone Ice Cream' in Bengaluru and was priced at Rs. 187. Reportedly, the order was picked up by a Swiggy agent after 35 minutes and was never delivered to the complainant. However, the status of the order was shown as 'delivered' on the app. In this regard, the person also sent out an e-mail to the food-tech giant and requested a refund of the amount he paid, which the latter failed to do. This prompted the complainant to approach the consumer forum for relief and compensation of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 7,500 as litigation costs.

Swiggy, on the other hand, contested that it was a situation between the third-party restaurant and the delivery agent, and the company was not in a position to check if the order was delivered, especially when it was marked as delivered on the app. Hence, they maintained that Swiggy could not be held liable for the alleged mistake.

The reports further explain that while analyzing the case, the bench of the jury found that Swiggy failed to respond to the legal notice issued by the customer for a refund. The consumer forum ruling read that the complainant could prove the "deficiency of service" from Swiggy's side, which is also looked upon as an act of "unfair trade practice".

However, the bench stated that the compensation of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 7,500 as litigation costs appeared to be exorbitant. Hence, they ordered the opposite party (here: Swiggy) to refund Rs. 187, and pay Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 2000 as compensation and litigation costs respectively.