CLEVELAND — Daniel Wortor has owned the Kamoe Corner Store on Cleveland's East Side for 20 years. During that time, he's dealt with armed robberies, arson, and now delivery service payment issues.
Wortor explained how he was nearly shot and killed during what appeared to be a robbery attempt in Nov. 2021. His vehicle was set on fire just outside the store in March 2020, but surprisingly, he said his current issues with trying to get Uber Eats to pay him are just as disheartening.
Wortor told News 5 that the delivery service company made some 40 merchandise and food pick-ups from his store from Jan. 24 to March 9, but he has yet to see any payments from Uber Eats, totaling nearly $1,000.
Wortor said that when the Uber Eats printer and computer tablet were set up at his store, everything appeared to be working correctly, but when things went wrong, and he tried calling his local Uber Eats representative to solve payment issues, he couldn't get any answers.
“It’s terrible because I keep contacting them, I email them and they won’t tell me what type of information they need, they will only give me a case number." Wortor said. “So I called them and I said why did you pause my account and they said the iPad we sent you is not working, you can send it to us and we’ll send you a new one.”
But Wortor told News 5 he didn't want to send back the old tablet until he was paid because it contains all of the unpaid transactions.
Cleveland Better Business Bureau Director of Operations Ericka Dilworth told News 5 that consumers and business owners need to fully understand contract and service agreement terms before placing orders or allowing deliveries from their business locations.
"You have to read the terms that you’re signing up for and make sure that you’re comfortable with what that business policy is,” Dilworth said. “What happens if you don’t get paid? What happens if there is a conflict? Usually, those kinds of things are spelled out.”
Dilworth said if you aren't getting proper customer service help from your local representative, you should contact company headquarters by searching out the proper phone number online.
“You look at the website, there’s got to be some kind of contact information," Dilworth said. "You start calling, if you don’t get answers from this person, then you’ve got to call the next person with the company."
Dilworth said consumers should use a credit card with fraud protection to make all delivery service purchases so they can dispute the charges if something goes wrong.
News 5 contacted Uber Eats corporate headquarters in San Francisco by email multiple times for this story, but we're still waiting for an official response.
News 5 also contacted the local Uber Eats representative by telephone, and while we didn't get a direct response, Wortor said the representative called him an hour later, vowing to take care of all the payment issues.
Meanwhile, Dilworth said consumers or business owners with delivery service issues can file a complaint with the BBB, the Ohio Attorney General, or their municipal small claims court.
News 5 will follow through on this developing story.
