Fast surge in food-delivery complaints

Food-delivery platforms offer discounts, but it does not mean customers pay less when they order instead of dining in, says the Consumer Council.

The watchdog received 522 complaints on such platforms in the first half of the year, up 36 percent over the same period last year, and "strikingly" more than in the first six months of 2020 right after the pandemic broke out.

One complainant said she ordered stir-fried beef with flat noodles on a delivery platform for HK$59.20 but later found the restaurant was selling the dish for HK$56 to dine-in customers.

She complained that the promotion scheme of the platform is deceiving as it deliberately displayed a higher "original price" and then offered "discounts."

Council chief Gilly Wong said: "The practice ... is problematic because the platforms have failed consumers' expectations. Consumers naturally expect to see lower prices given the discounts and if they find the prices to be the same, they would feel misled."

She said when eateries offer big discounts but actually had never sold their products at the claimed original price, they are in breach of the Trade Description Ordinance.

The watchdog also said complaints about monthly subscription plans or membership schemes of food-delivery platforms increased during the first six months.

In one case, a consumer had been unknowingly paying a monthly subscription fee for eight months, totaling HK$800.

The consumer registered an account on a platform during its free trial period, but later found it unsuitable for him and so deleted the app.

"He had never seen any SMS or e-mail from the platform informing him of the membership until he checked his credit card statement and found out that the platform had been charging him monthly subscription fees for eight months," said Victor Lui Wing-choeng, vice chairman of the council's research and testing committee.

The complainant said the platform did not clearly seek his consent, Lui added

The council urged food-delivery platforms to improve transparency.

Wong said: "If platforms hide the subscription terms, it would be unfair to the consumers. They should clearly tell consumers how to cancel the subscription after the free trial. And it would be better if they tell consumers before they press the 'agree' button or even remind them of deciding whether to continue the subscription before the end of the free trial."

The watchdog also reviewed 240 beauty products sold in online shops, including the official websites of 46 brands. It found that over half of them did not list the ingredients on their websites.