NYC Restaurant Owner Says Grubhub Refunded $10K In Erroneous Fees

Remember that ongoing lawsuit surrounding Grubhub, and its allegations that the food delivery giant has been piling unnecessary call fees onto restaurants within its network? As an NYC public hearing on the subject draws near, a New York Post story suggests that there could well be fire where restaurant owners have been smelling smoke. After all, a company doesn't just give out $10,000 refunds for no reason.

The Post report suggests that a restaurant owner (who chose to remain anonymous) was compensated in that amount after making a formal complaint with Grubhub: "At first, the restaurant owner says Grubhub, which also owns Seamless, told him it could only refund him fees going back for 60 days—a line that numerous other restaurants say they've also been handed by the company... After he was handed off to a more senior rep, the Chicago company swiftly agreed to cut him a check for all the erroneous charges going back to 2014, he said." The refund is Grubhub's largest to date, at least on record.

Other restaurant owners, who reportedly fear "retribution" from Grubhub in the form of raised fees or buried restaurant listings, are also disputing the charges. Some are now combing through their own records to verify how much they might be owed. As the anonymous owner alleges, "It took them 30 minutes to figure it out... I guarantee that they know to the penny what their liability is."

New York's hearing on the issue will take place on Thursday.