Uber has agreed to pay a roughly $10 million settlement to the city of Chicago related to an investigation of Uber Eats’ business practices in the city, according to a press release. Uber Eats and Postmates allegedly added Chicago restaurants to their platforms without permission, violated the city’s 15% emergency commission fee cap ordinance and engaged in prohibited conduct related to advertising. Uber has been working to resolve these issues with the city since 2021, according to the release.
“We are committed to supporting Uber Eats restaurant partners in Chicago and are pleased to put this matter behind us,” an Uber Eats spokesperson wrote in an email to Restaurant Dive.
Chicago is also investigating business practices of DoorDash and Grubhub after filing lawsuits against the platforms last year. The city alleged the companies advertised services from non-partner restaurants without their consent and charged more fees than originally advertised to customers. Both companies have denied these allegations.
Uber’s settlement includes payments previously made to restaurants, as the company paid over $3.3 million in 2021 to Chicago restaurants that were charged in excess of the city’s emergency fee cap. Uber will pay an additional $2.25 million to restaurants that were charged commissions that exceeding the emergency fee cap.
In 2021, Uber removed all remaining Chicago restaurants from its site that were listed on the platform without consent and agreed not to list restaurants without their permission in the future. The company will pay $500,000 to restaurants that were listed on its delivery platforms without permission without contracts with Uber. Another $2.5 million will be provided in commission waivers to Chicago restaurants that were listed on its delivery platforms without consent and contracts if they choose to be listed on the platform in the future. Uber will pay $1.5 million to Chicago to cover the costs and fees of the investigation.
As part of the settlement, both parties agreed that the claims were not an admission of liability by Uber, and Uber denied the city’s accusations.
Restaurants that were listed on Uber without consent are asked to visit the city’s website at Chicago.gov/UberSettlement to fill out forms to receive financial compensation and commission waivers. Restaurants charged in excess of the commission fee cap will automatically receive compensation from the company.
