It’s one of the most popular apps for having food and drink delivered straight to your door, along with Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
But security experts have warned Just Eat customers about a dodgy scam that leaves them without their items, or their money.
Several customers have reported paying for alcohol orders but not receiving anything in return, according to investigators at consumer champion, Which?.
Customers are then finding themselves unable to get a refund as the order is marked as ‘delivered’ on the app, according to the findings.
Many of the scam businesses on Just Eat have fake addresses and fake five-star reviews, enticing people to place an order with them.
‘We uncovered dodgy listings on Just Eat that claim to sell alcohol but which customers say are taking their cash without delivering their orders,’ said Lisa Webb, Which? consumer law expert.
‘If it wants to maintain customer trust, Just Eat needs to keep dodgy listings off its app and make sure people are refunded when orders don’t arrive.’
Which? said all the examples found only sold alcohol, not food, but the findings suggest it’s worth being cautious when ordering anything on the popular app.
It’s one of the most popular apps for having food and drink delivered straight to your door, with a market worth of over £2 billion. But Just Eat is leaving users vulnerable to scams
Which? found 23 listings (businesses) on Just Eat that claim to sell alcohol but have reviews complaining of paying for orders and not receiving anything in return
Just Eat was founded by five entrepreneurs in Denmark in 2001 before expanding to the UK five years later – and now has a market cap of over £2 billion.
It is primarily a food delivery app, but the business has focused in recent years on other products too, including alcohol, cosmetics, electronics and even sex toys.
After scrolling the app, Which? experts found 23 listings (businesses) on Just Eat claiming to sell alcohol that had one-star reviews complaining of paying for orders and not receiving anything in return.
One said: ‘Saying it’s been delivered and has not turned up I have cameras to prove this has not come to me or my door so my pin would not of been put down either completely ruined our party!!!!’
Another one-star review simply said: ‘Never received my order.’
When customers tried to call the business they ordered from, calls were either unanswered or they were told items were running late but never showed up, Which? said.
Tellingly, most of the 23 listings had addresses that led to self-storage units rather than off licenses or registered addresses of reputable brands.
Which? admits that storage units can be used legitimately by companies who wish to sell items without operating from a physical store, but this is one sign to look out for.
Which? said all the examples found only sold alcohol, not food, but the findings suggest it’s worth being cautious when ordering anything on the app
Which? found some of the names of the dodgy listings on Companies House, although it couldn’t confirm that these were the same companies.
Three companies had been dissolved, meaning they shouldn’t have been operating, while another had received a compulsory strike-off so it should be dissolved shortly.
In one instance, a scammer impersonated a legitimate company, using its brand name and address to sell alcohol on Just Eat.
According to Ms Webb, Just Eat’s dodgy listings can be hard to spot, but a good indication is if it has a lot of one to three star reviews.
‘If you see a lot of one to three star reviews it’s probably best to avoid purchasing anything,’ she said.
However, an occasional five-star review amongst the one-star ones may also be a suspicious sign.
Which? noticed some five star and four-and-a-half-star reviews waxing lyrical about the service were posted by the same name on the same day – likely by a scammer or their fellow conspirator.
‘If you think a listing is suspicious, you can also check the address listed and see if it leads to where it says it should when you type it into a search engine,’ Ms Webb said.
Just Eat was founded by five entrepreneurs in Denmark in 2001 before expanding to the UK five years later
‘If you lose money by ordering something on Just Eat and don’t receive a refund, you can try making a claim through chargeback or section 75 with your bank or credit provider
‘If you think you have been scammed, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it to Action Fraud or Police Scotland.’
In response to the findings, Just Eat apologised and confirmed that it would be taking the scam listings offline – although it’s unclear if it has done so yet.
‘Like all delivery companies, we have a strict onboarding process and conduct compliance checks to ensure our partners uphold the law and meet our clear service standards,’ a Just Eat spokesperson said.
‘While the vast majority provide excellent service, a small handful do not.
‘This is a challenge for the entire industry, and we take firm action when issues arise. In this case, we are suspending these stores from our platform while we investigate further.
‘We apologise to customers affected and are processing swift refunds.
‘We remain committed to working with our partners to continuously improve our service and give customers the best possible experience.’
