# PART 1. Uber Eats: 'Unfair contracts' and botched deliveries alleged by restaurateurs



## Hugh G (Sep 22, 2016)

Watch the 4 minute video:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/the-business/2018-04-20/the-food-fight-with-uber-eats/9682408

*If you are a restaurateur, customer or driver with further information, you can contact the ABC anonymously.*

__________________________________________________

*Uber Eats: 'Unfair contracts' and botched deliveries alleged by restaurateurs*

By business reporter David Chau
*22/04/2018*
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-...-over-conditions-on-restaurant-owners/9662814
There's no doubt that consumers enjoy the convenience of food delivery - it's estimated Australians spend $2.6 billion on it each year.

Uber Eats is one of the major players in this market, and has been expanding quickly since ride-sharing company Uber introduced it to Australia in 2016.

What consumers may not know is that restaurant owners have to sign up to some dubious contract terms if they want Uber Eats to deliver meals for them.

One of these terms is: "You acknowledge &#8230; Uber is a technology services provider &#8230; [which does not] provide any delivery or logistics services."

This is in addition to charging restaurants a 35 per cent commission for every delivery made.

Despite Uber denying it does "deliveries" in legal documents, several posts on its website tell a different story:

"Download the Uber Eats app, find what you're craving, and *we'll delivery* (sic) directly to you."

"&#8230; make your selection, and watch in real time as *we deliver* your combo directly to your doorstep."

"Uber Eats can help you beat the heat with hundreds of ice cream and gelati options. You crave, *we deliver*."

"&#8230; request a California Chicken Sandwich and watch as *we deliver *it to your curbside."

  
*Photo:* Uber says it's not a delivery service but its website boasts 'You crave, we deliver'. (Uber) 

Uber imposes this "fiction" on restaurants to minimise its responsibility, according to Ben Robertson of Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers.

"The real nature of the problem is [Uber's contract] shifts the responsibility and the risk of delivery and logistics onto the restaurant, but the restaurant really has no control over the routes the driver takes," Mr Robertson said.

In a statement to the ABC, Uber maintained that: "Uber Eats is a marketplace that connects restaurants with delivery partners and eaters through our technology."

*Who's working for who?*
Another "fiction" is Uber's requirement for restaurateurs to consent to a term that says "Delivery Partners" (in other words, its drivers or riders) are "your agent".

Several restaurateurs have complained to the ABC that they actually have no control over Uber's drivers - whose workload and wages are controlled by Uber through its app.

  
*Photo:* Who controls the drivers - Uber or the restaurant owner? The contract and marketing materials suggest different things. (Uber) 

Uber goes to great lengths to distance itself from any perceived control over the drivers or riders.

To become an Uber driver or rider, applicants have to agree that: "I am not an employee, subcontractor or agent of Uber."

Again, when one looks at Uber's website, under the "for restaurants" section, there seems to be a different story.

"Why should I work with Uber Eats?" is the massive heading at the top of this page.

Uber's answer suggests it has more control over the drivers or riders than it is willing to admit in the contract.

"Getting your food there fast. Our delivery partners deliver your food to hungry customers fast," Uber wrote.

The implications of who controls the drivers - whether it's Uber or the restaurants - are serious.

Mr Robertson explained: "So the restaurant could give a piping hot pizza to the Uber driver."

"But by the time it gets to the consumer, because of the route the driver takes, or the number of deliveries he takes along the way, it could be stone cold by the time it gets to the customer."

The disgruntled customer would then want a refund, which leads to further complications in Uber's contract with restaurateurs.

Given the huge scale of Uber Eats' delivery operations, mistakes do occasionally happen, its general manager concedes.

"When we're delivering at this scale, some orders don't get there in less than 30 minutes," said Jodie Auster, the head of Uber Eats (Australia and New Zealand).

"Some orders don't get there in the way they had originally been intended."

*Who's responsible for ruining 'Fat Friday'?*
  
*Photo:* Ben Robertson from Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers told the ABC restaurants don't have any control. (ABC News: Grant Wignall) 

One thing is apparent in Uber's contract with Portier Pacific (its Australian subsidiary) and restaurant owners - many of which are small business owners - is that Uber seeks to minimise its liability as much as possible.

Its terms suggest the restaurateur has a lot more control over the entire delivery process than they actually do.

For instance, restaurateurs are "responsible for the delivery of meals" and they "maintain possession, control, and care of the meals at all times".

If the customers complain about the meal being substandard, then Uber has the power to "deduct refunds" from the restaurateur.

What then is a "Substandard Meal", according to the contract?

It's a meal that falls outside Uber's "safe temperature range". For hot food like pizzas and burgers, it must not fall below 60 degrees Celsius.

For cold food like ice-cream, it must not rise above 5 degrees Celsius.

But the complication is, if Uber's riders or drivers take too long in delivering the customers' food and it arrives late, Uber has the power to force restaurateurs to pay for the refund.

*Dark kitchens cooking the online menu*
  
'Dark kitchens' are being built in Australia to produce food only for the delivery market.

"Uber decides whether or not to refund the customer and can assign responsibility for the problem [to the restaurant]," Mr Robertson said.

"And the restaurant has no control over process."

Late delivery was the most common complaint about Uber's delivery drivers that restaurant owners and customers made to the ABC.

One disappointed customer was carpenter Carl Sierra, who has been ordering lunch via Uber Eats deliveries every week for the past 14 months, as part of a routine he calls "Fat Friday".

"In recent weeks, we've had dishes that were 'meant to come' not come, drinks that [end up] warm, and [hot] food that [arrives] cold," Mr Sierra said.

"When you've been slaving away on the building site, it's a disappointing thing."


----------

