New Delhi: It is a common thing to order food online for birthday celebrations, but in Delhi, the dispute over two orders worth about ₹ 250 escalated so much that the matter reached the Consumer Commission. Now in this case, Zomato will have to pay interest, compensation and litigation expenses along with the order amount.
The matter is of August 2024. Manoj Kumar had ordered five different foods from Zomato at the same address on his niece's birthday. Of these, three orders were delivered on time, but two orders could not reach the customer. The price of these two orders was ₹146.73 and ₹103.88. That means the total amount was ₹ 250.61. Zomato canceled both the orders. Explaining the reason for this, the company said that the delivery partner called the customer's number several times, but could not be contacted as the phone was not reachable.
Order canceled, refund not received
Manoj Kumar said that he did not get the money back after the order was cancelled. According to him, instead of giving refund, the company cited cancellation charges. After this he approached Delhi Consumer Commission. An important point was made by the customer in the hearing. He said that if the mobile number was unreachable, then how were the remaining three orders placed at the same time and at the same address successfully delivered? The commission also looked at the reasons given by Zomato on the same basis.
No response received from Zomato
During the hearing of the case, Zomato's position became weaker. According to the commission, despite receiving the notice, the company did not appear in the hearing and did not even file its written reply within the stipulated legal time. After this, unilateral action was taken against the company on June 10, 2025. On the other hand, Manoj Kumar presented documents related to the affidavit, summary of both orders, transcript of customer support chat and legal notice in support of his claim. The company did not oppose these claims and documents. Therefore the Commission considered these as unchallenged evidence.
Zomato's lack of service: commission
The Consumer Commission found Zomato's service deficiency and unfair business practices in the case. The commission also recorded that Manoj Kumar was a member of Zomato Gold. According to the order, the company will have to return the original amount of ₹250.61. Apart from this, 6 percent interest will have to be paid on this amount from the date of order till payment. ₹5,000 compensation for mental distress and harassment and ₹3,000 will have to be paid separately as litigation expenses. This means that the dispute over two orders of small amount has now become a liability of thousands of rupees on the company. The total payment with interest will be more than ₹8,250.61.
Important thing for customers also
The commission has directed Zomato to make the payment within 45 days of receiving the order. This includes refund, interest, compensation and litigation expenses.
This case also teaches a lesson for customers using food delivery apps. In case of order cancellation or dispute regarding refund, order summary, customer support chat, refund message and other important records should be preserved. In this case, the documents submitted by the customer were important. At the same time, Zomato's failure to respond on time also had an impact on the decision.