"Claimed There Were Bugs, Got a Full Refund... Only Four Pieces of Sashimi and Trash Returned"

Food Mostly Consumed When Retrieved After Full Refund

Regulations Exist to Block 'Problematic Delivery Customers,' but Damages Continue

Public outrage has arisen after it was reported that a self-employed business owner in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province fully refunded a customer after they claimed "there were bugs in the food," only to have returned to him nothing but trash.

Mr. A, who runs a sashimi restaurant in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, received an order worth 100,000 won and delivered the food, but was asked for a refund claiming "a bug came out." After the delivery app company fully refunded the amount and retrieved the food, most of it had already been eaten. SBS.

According to SBS's "News Hunters" on September 10, Mr. A, who runs a raw fish restaurant in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, received an order totaling 100,000 won via the Baedal Minjok delivery app on August 17, which included premium sashimi and two bottles of soju, and delivered the food to the customer.

After 30 minutes, Mr. A was contacted by Baedal Minjok with the message, "The customer says there were bugs in the sashimi," and was informed that a cancellation request had been submitted. Mr. A replied that he "needed to check the condition of the food" and agreed to a refund on the condition that the food would be collected.

However, Baedal Minjok canceled the order and issued a full refund before collecting the food. When the food was finally returned, most of it had already been eaten—only four pieces of sashimi remained. One of the two bottles of soju was missing, and the other was about half-consumed. The plastic bag contained a large amount of trash.

Mr. A protested to Baedal Minjok, saying, "I was refunded without actually getting the goods back, and all I received was trash," and asked for compensation for his losses. However, the customer service representative replied, "Since you agreed to the order cancellation, a refund is not possible. There is no process for compensation in cases involving foreign substances."

Mr. A later received a photo of the supposed bug from the customer, but said there was no way to verify whether it had actually come from the food or had been introduced from outside. He added, "I have been running my raw fish restaurant for over a year and have never received a complaint about bugs before."

As store owners like Mr. A continued to experience losses due to customers, the delivery app provider introduced internal regulations to protect them. It now states in its terms that "if food has been prepared according to the customer's order, irreversible damages may occur to the business owner, so order cancellations based on a simple change of mind are not permitted." Despite these provisions, self-employed business owners continue to appeal about the damages they suffer from indiscriminate refunds.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.