Hyderabad: The district consumer disputes redressal commission of Ranga Reddy district has directed the food and grocery delivery service Swiggy to pay a total of Rs 25,000 in punitive damages for misleading customers by inflating delivery distances and charging fees under the Swiggy One membership.
Additionally, the platform has been ordered to pay Rs 5,000 for causing mental anguish and inconvenience to the complainant, along with Rs 5,000 to cover legal costs. The commission also mandated a refund of Rs 350.48 (plus 9 percent interest) and Rs 103 collected as a delivery partner fee.
Complainant’s experience with Swiggy
The complainant, Emmadi Suresh, a government employee residing in Balanagar purchased a Swiggy One membership to enjoy free delivery within a specified distance. On September 27, 2023, he ordered food and was charged Rs 103 for a delivery of 9.7 kilometres.
However, when Suresh Babu placed another order on November 1, 2023, the delivery distance was artificially inflated to 14 kilometres, forcing him to pay delivery charges despite his membership.
When he sought clarification regarding the incident, the company suggested that the delivery route could change based on mobile GPS but did not adequately address his concerns. Unsatisfied with this response, Suresh filed a complaint with the commission.
Swiggy did not respond to the commission’s notice and failed to appear for the hearing, leading to a default judgment in favour of the complainant.
The commission noted that the practice of inflating delivery distances could affect many customers, constituting unfair trade practices and a deficiency of service. Given these findings, the commission ordered the company to stop this deceptive practice and granted the complaint compensation and refunds.
Recently, leading online food delivery services Zomato and Swiggy have raised their platform fees in several cities, including Hyderabad.
This fee hike comes when many are gearing up for the festive season, which typically sees a surge in food delivery orders.
On the Swiggy app, it was mentioned, “This fee helps us operate and improve our platform, delivering a seamless app experience, even during the high festive rush,” as the reason for the ‘festive season platform fee.’
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Tamreen Sultana | 
