Just Eat 'taking action' over delivery no-show scam

In recent weeks, the food courier service has received reports from customers and restaurants in the area over a trend in drivers not fulfilling orders.

The scam sees people logging into the Just Eat mobile app and accepting an order, not collecting it then later marking it as being delivered.

With the order marked as delivered, the driver will receive payment, but the customer is left out of pocket and restaurants left to waste the undelivered food.

A Just Eat spokesman confirmed that complaints of this nature had been received and that "immediate action" had been taken to remedy it.

They said: "We are committed to providing the best experience to all of our customers. In line with this, we expect all couriers associated with Just Eat to act respectfully and responsibly at all times.

"Whenever we're made aware of any incident that falls below the high standards we expect, we will always investigate and take appropriate action."

Brad Baxter, who owns Gonzo's in Norwich, has spoken out in the past about difficulties with delivery services, although with the bar employing its own delivery drivers said it had not experienced this problem with Just Eat directly.

He said: "We have had issues in the past with delivery drivers collecting multiple orders and we're aware of this happening to others, which is why we decided to employ our own delivery drivers.

"We still use Just Eat to gather orders and be more visible, but we have our own delivery drivers, which I think is the best way for independents to do it.

"As delivery drivers are technically self-employed, I think some people may be taking it on as a way of getting work during the lockdown and maybe some people are abusing it as a way to make a quick buck. But generally, it is a good system."

A spokesman for Just Eat added that the organisation takes complaints like these seriously and that measures were being put in place to prevent the problem persisting.