A LECTURER for the University of Worcester is calling for residents to ‘boycott’ delivery company Uber Eats after not receiving his food.

Mikel Koven ordered a takeaway pizza from Benedicto’s Italian Restaurant via the Uber Eats app, but claims the food didn’t arrive and he has not been offered a refund.

Dr Koven said: “On Saturday, 13 February, I ordered three pizzas for my family from Benedicto’s, but instead of using the restaurant’s own app, I used the Uber Eats platform. I did this because Uber Eats were offering a 50% off deal on food, and money being as tight as it is these days, I thought that was a very good deal.

The order was well past the expected delivery time and I phoned the restaurant directly, as per Uber Eats’ instructions. The gentleman I spoke to at Benedicto’s told me that no Uber Eats orders had been received by them that evening because their Uber Eats printer, which presumably prints out each Uber Eats order, was malfunctioning and they’d turned it off.

“However, accordingly, Uber Eats were still accepting orders for that restaurant despite no orders getting through.

“When I phoned Uber Eats, I was unable to speak to anyone because the order was now ‘closed’ and they were only dealing with current, on-going problems.

Uber Eats were incredibly hard to get hold of and after multiple emails I was still ignored. It was only when I publicly tweeted my complaint, they began to reply, but I have still not gotten an explanation or a refund.

“I emailed Benedicto’s directly to get their side of the story. Their representative both phoned me directly, and followed up in writing, supporting my version of the events and placing the blame squarely with Uber Eats.

“It is not about the refund, the bill was under £25, but the principle of the issue. I’m calling on my fellow Worcesterians, and anyone else reading this, to boycott Uber Eats. Delete the app from your phones. Once this issue has been finally resolved, one way or the other, I too will be deleting the app and never using them again.

“Any special discount Uber Eats offers is of little value if the food never arrives and the company won’t refund your money. Benedicto’s have their own webpage for home deliveries. Please use that instead for the best pizza in the region. I can also say the Benedicto’s have the best customer service in the region too!

“Shop local whenever you can.”

An Uber spokeswoman said: "We are sorry for this bad experience, and are currently investigating what happened."