An upmarket Sydney restaurant has been caught up in a fake Uber Eats scam

The complaints about undelivered Valentine’s Day Uber Eats orders from upmarket Sydney restaurant The Sanderson started with a trickle of emails, turned into angry phone calls and escalated when unhappy customers fronted up at the restaurant. Trouble is, The Sanderson doesn’t have an Uber Eats account.

The Sanderson has been swept up in an online scam directed at the high-end venue, with a fake Uber Eats account hoodwinking diners into thinking they were ordering from the George Street restaurant.

One angry victim screamed down the phone at staff that “The Sanderson had ruined Valentine’s Day”, said the restaurant’s co-owner, Speakeasy Group director Sven Almenning.

With its elegant dining room and a menu that features $18 caviar bumps and wagyu striploin for $130, The Sanderson is pitched at dine-in customers. “We are very much a ‘special occasion’ business where people come to celebrate key milestones in their lives. Not exactly something we can do by shipping food out in a box,” Almenning said.

Indeed, none of the venues at Speakeasy Group, which include Sydney and Melbourne outlets of Mjolner restaurant and luxe bar Eau-De-Vie as well as The Sanderson, offer food delivery through Uber Eats or any other platform.

One angry victim screamed down the phone at staff that “The Sanderson had ruined Valentine’s Day”.

Almenning is concerned for the scammed customers, but also for the negative effect the incident had on his staff and business. “As a result of the listing, we have copped several one-star reviews from unhappy guests, our team has been abused over the phone,” he said.

“The business has no doubt suffered significant reputational damage, especially among the guests who placed orders with the fraudulent listing, as well as among guests who frequent The Sanderson and who would have seen discounted menu items, two-for-one deals etc that we would never run in the restaurant,” he added.

In response to questions Good Food put to Uber regarding the fake Sanderson account, a company spokesperson said: “Uber apologises to The Sanderson and to any customers impacted by this fraudulent activity. We understand the frustration and confusion this caused.” Uber also confirmed customers who had placed orders had been refunded.

Almenning has concerns about the verification process that allowed the fake account to be established, and why a new account from an upmarket restaurant didn’t raise red flags with Uber Eats.

“We are aware of isolated attempts of this nature and act quickly to remove them when detected,” the Uber spokesperson said. “Accounts exhibiting suspicious behaviour are flagged and removed using a combination of human review and fraud-detection technology. Safeguards within the merchant onboarding process continue to be strengthened to help prevent this type of activity in future.”

Almenning said it took four days for the account to be pulled down after they notified Uber Eats. “Then of course there are the concerns about food safety and hygiene,” the restaurateur said. Uber said no orders placed on the fake Sanderson account were delivered.

Juggling abusive phone calls when dealing with Valentine’s Day, one of the busiest days on the restaurant calendar, was not only difficult for The Sanderson team.

“Can you imagine how upset you’d be if you’d planned your Valentine’s Day around a beautiful meal being delivered from one of your favourite restaurants and … not have your food turn up?” Almenning said.