Government of Colombia probes into delivery platforms for Mother’s Day delays

Contxto – The 2020 Mother’s Day ordeal continues for food delivery platforms in Colombia. On May 10th, their services were overloaded with work. That led to delays in orders, charges for services that weren’t carried out, delayed refunds, to name a few.

Now to add to platforms’ woes, Colombia’s Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) is stepping in.

Last Friday (15), this government body announced it was carrying out investigations into these systemic and operational failures. Correspondingly it’s probing into user complaints against services like Rappi, Uber Eats, Domicilios.com, and iFood.

• Related article: Delivery platforms Rappi, Domicilios.com, and Hugo had one heck of a Mother’s Day

If the investigation concludes that any of these platforms violated consumers’ rights, they may have to pay fines for up to around US$445,000.

Why it’s a big deal: Poor customer service not to mention refund delays can lead to a lasting and ugly impression on users. This case illustrates that businesses despite their preparation, should always be upfront about their capabilities and limitations. After all, forewarned is forearmed.

Colombian government probes into food delivery

Colombia has been under mandatory quarantine since late March and under that context, reliance on food delivery platforms only grew and then spewed over last Mother’s Day. User complaints eventually Government of Colombia probes into delivery platforms for Mother’s Day delays reached the SIC.

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As part of its ongoing investigation, it’s asking food delivery platforms how they prepared for the occasion, the number of expected orders, as well as estimated delivery times. It’s also concerned as to platforms’ misleading posts or insufficient information.

Here’s each platform’s stance on the matter:

• Rappi: Said it understood the “inconvenience” its users may have experienced and it’s responding to the SIC’s summons for information.
• Uber Eats: Confirmed it received a notification from the government and is looking into it.
• iFood: stated It hasn’t been “officially” notified of the probe but it’s willing to cooperate.
• Domicilios.com: Has yet to announce if it’s been contacted by the SIC. Though its social media reveals it has some unhappy users and it’s working to respond to complaints it receives via email.

Related articles: Tech and startups from Colombia!

-ML