A Scottish Just Eat driver is refusing to deliver McDonald's orders as he claims staff want him to take on a 'degrading obstacle course' including scaling a 5FT FENCE and climbing through a bush.
Ben Andrews says staff at the Grangemouth branch in Falkirk, told drivers in July they were no longer allowed to use the store's parking and suggested pulling into a nearby industrial estate.
The 33-year-old claims that the abandoned estate can only be accessed from the restaurant on foot by vaulting over a 5ft metal fence and clambering through a bush.
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When Ben complained about the 'inappropriate' situation, he says an order was taken off him by a staff member who threatened to ring the customer and tell them that he was 'refusing to deliver'.
But Ben, who says other drivers navigate the fence by dropping customers' food parcels over before hauling themselves down, is refusing to do deliveries until he's allowed to park in the carpark.
McDonald's confirmed their carpark is now reserved for customers only and said they always recommend delivery drivers park somewhere safe and find a sensible route to the restaurant.
However Ben says there is no other parking in the area due to the restaurant being alongside a dual carriageway and some fellow delivery drivers were forced to make a hole in the fence to avoid climbing it any more.
Ben said: "I decided not to do it because it was degrading to climb over fences to access an area without safe parking.
"I didn't want to waste my petrol. I could see from [where I was in ] the McDonalds I wasn't prepared to scramble over fences with food in my hands.
"It's like a bit of an obstacle course.
"You've got to try and traverse over a metal fence and push yourself through the bush with a carrier bag, carrying milk, food and drink - it's not appropriate to do.
"We're being paid by a customer of McDonalds to collect their order. If they [the customer] came into the car park, the staff wouldn't say, 'you're not allowed to park here, go jump over a bush'.
"Until our food is in the hands of a customer, we're working on behalf of that customer. That was what was really frustrating to me.
"You've driven there, used your petrol, you don't get paid the distance to the restaurant and you turn up and the food is there waiting and they refuse to give it to you.
"It's then going to be wasted food on that company, or it's going to be cold or refunded. It's not just me [not] being paid, there's also that element of them now wasting food."
Ben has been in touch with Just Eat since July in an effort to encourage the company to resolve the issue but claims they've yet to find a safe space for drivers to park in.
The industrial estate is now in the process of being demolished, but Ben says McDonald's staff are still refusing to allow delivery drivers to use their car park.
Instead, he claims drivers are forced to use 'illegal' parking spots and hope they don't get a ticket.
Ben said: "They're expecting you to make a five-minute one-way drive to get to this other place and try and traverse over all this stuff while you're holding food and drinks.
"If you then deliver it and there's a spillage, [there's going to be a problem].
"I'll take whatever actions I can take. I feel kind of powerless. There's not a huge amount I can do when no one replies to me.
"You make an official complaint with a company you're working under the name of, and you'd hope within four months something would have moved."
Just Eat confirmed they had raised Ben's complaint with their restaurant partner.
McDonald's said they always recommend drivers park somewhere safe and find a 'sensible route' to the restaurant.
A McDonald's spokesperson said: "Due to the size of the carpark at our Grangemouth restaurant all spaces are reserved for restaurant customers.
"We have advised our delivery partners to find a safe and convenient place near the restaurant to park when collecting orders."
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