A takeaway owner who began a city wide backlash against online delivery giant Just Eat says he has had to let some of his "best staff" go over the issue.
Restaurateurs across Merseyside shared their frustration after Just Eat changed its procedures and removed an option for takeaway owners to challenge refund requests from customers before the money is returned.
Invoices seen by the ECHO show refunds given, after food has been delivered, with reasons including "cold food" or "damaged items", which the restaurant owners claim are fraudulent and leave them unfairly out of pocket.
READ MORE: Just Eat 'loophole' driving takeaway owner 'out of business'
But parting ways with Just Eat represents a risky step for small takeaways, with some telling the ECHO more than 70% of their takings come via orders placed with the company.
Edris Nosrati said his business Lazio Pizza, in Green Lane, Old Swan, has taken the plunge and cancelled his Just Eat membership.
He told the ECHO: "I left Just Eat and I sent the device back to them, and now a few more shops they are just switching off three or four days a week and they don’t accept any new customers from Just Eat.
"It affected my business but unfortunately I had to reduce my staff and drivers.
"That was so sad for me to lose my best staff, but I had no choice and it wasn’t my fault.
"When some customers want free food they don’t know what will happen next to other people.
"Some people they lose jobs because they want to have a free meal and some big company like Just Eat they don’t care about small businesses."
Mr Nosrati had previously described how he and his fellow business owners believe they have been unfairly treated by Just Eat, which already takes 14% commission on every order alongside a 50p flat admin charge.
He formed a Whatsapp group of fellow takeaway owners to share their experiences of dealing with Just Eat.
Another member, Hadi Hagghi, owner of the Little Italy takeaways in Maghull and Breck Road, told the ECHO in November: "Just Eat is bigger than us, we need to be together to take it on."
The ECHO reported last year how some unscrupulous customers of the Deli Group takeaways in St Helens were forcing owner Marc Faulkner into serious financial difficulties.
Some people had discovered they could receive a refund from Just Eat simply by claiming their orders had not arrived, leaving the takeaway owners footing the bill, and safe in the knowledge their claims would not be checked.
Just Eat says that its restaurant partners can still challenge the request retrospectively, and if the refund was incorrect or based on a fraudulent claim the money will be returned.
The company also said customers who appear to be abusing the system could have their bank cards blocked and accounts suspended.
Masoud Shams, owner of Napoli Pizza in Stanley Road, Bootle, previously told the ECHO his business has lost hundreds in a few weeks.
He said: "The reason we started this group is that Just Eat has changed their policy regarding refund to customers without informing their partners.
"So the loophole is customers can order the food and Just Eat will send them an email saying 'are you happy with your meal?' and if you're not you can get a refund.
"So people think to themselves 'if I can get some of my money why not?' So they're putting for refund and Just Eat pay them back in the amount they have asked for.
"But we still get charged for full commission for the order. I have spoken to the area manager regarding this issue and simply she said that's the policy.
"It is wrong, they are not giving away their own money they are giving away small businesses' money.
"We are struggling in this pandemic, we have staff to pay and all other bills. I am even thinking closing Just Eat because is better to close it before I get bankrupt."
One set of invoices, shared by Soran Rashid, owner of Rio Pizza on Queens Drive, showed hundreds of pounds worth of refunds, including three adding up to £55 all registered on October 22 for "cold food"..
Just Eat previously told the ECHO the new system is designed to try and find a balance of fairness between restaurant and customer and described fraudulent refunds as "rare".
A spokeswoman for the company said: "Just Eat is only successful if our restaurant partners are successful and we have a track record of helping restaurants prosper.
"The recent measures we’ve put in place is to ensure an even fairer refunds process for all, such as increasing the time for restaurants to raise any disputes.
"We actively take steps to ensure our partners are fairly compensated whenever we’re made aware of any activity relating to non-genuine refunds.
"We’re keen to maintain an open dialogue with the restaurants on our platform and continue to review our policies and processes in this space to support both customers and restaurants alike."
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