Undelivered Ice Cream: Consumer Court Orders Swiggy To Pay Customer Rs 5,000

Bengaluru: A consumer court here has ordered Swiggy to pay Rs 3,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as litigation costs to a customer who had sued the food delivery platform for not delivering an ice cream ordered through the app.

The court, observing that there was a “deficiency of service” and “unfair trade practice”, also directed Swiggy to refund Rs 187, paid for the ice cream, to the customer, reported Bar and Bench.

The customer had approached the Consumer Commission after Swiggy failed to deliver the ‘Nutty Death by Chocolate’ ice cream she ordered in January 2023.

The complaint stated that a delivery agent picked up the order from the ice cream shop, but it was not delivered to her. However, the status on the app showed the ice cream as ‘delivered.’

When she raised the matter with Swiggy, the company did not provide a refund. She then approached the consumer court.

In its defence, Swiggy said it was just an intermediary between the customer and restaurants, and could not be held liable for the alleged mistake of its delivery agent. The company further argued that it could not verify if the order had been delivered when it was marked as delivered on the app.

The court rejected these arguments, and also Swiggy’s contention that it was protected from liability under provisions of the Information Technology Act.

“We are of the considered view that the complainant has proved that there is a deficiency of service on the part of the OP (Opposite party/Swiggy) since OP has not refunded the amount paid by the complainant though the ordered product has not been delivered to the complainant,” the Bangalore Urban II Additional District Consumer Redressal Commission said.

“The said acts of the OP (Swiggy) amounts to deficiency of service and also unfair trade practice,” the commission noted.

The complainant claimed Rs 10,000 as compensation and Rs 7,500 as litigation expenses.

The court found these to be exorbitant, and asked Swiggy to refund Rs 187, and pay Rs 3,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as litigation costs.