Federal Hill restaurant owners say they aren't being paid for Uber Eats orders

The owner of a Federal Hill restaurant says Uber Eats owes her business $30,000 in unpaid revenue and has taken thousands of dollars in unexplained fees.

The Jollof Bowl, located inside Cross Street Market, joined the third-party delivery platform last year. Owner Andrea Kamara said the restaurant has struggled to get answers from the company after its payments were put on hold in July.

When reviewing the restaurant's statements that month, Kamara said she realized the business had not received its weekly payouts. When she contacted Uber Eats, the company told her there was suspected fraud connected to the account and the money could not be released.

Kamara said she found no evidence of fraud on the restaurant's end and repeatedly called and emailed the company in an attempt to resolve the issue, but received little response. Last week, Uber Eats assigned a new account manager to her case, she said. The restaurant still has not been paid.

"At the end of the day, we need our money back," Kamara said. "When we emailed them and said, 'Hey, listen, you guys have cut us out,' they were like, 'We have a longer-than-usual wait time. Please feel free to still make these orders and we'll get your money back to you,' but we still haven't gotten it."

Jollof Bowl says it is still waiting for thousands in payouts  

Since July, the restaurant has not received payments for any Uber Eats orders. Customers continue to pay through the app, but Kamara said the restaurant has not received its share of the revenue.

The Jollof Bowl is still receiving orders through Uber Eats, but Kamara said the restaurant has been locked out of the company's dashboard. Drivers sometimes arrive at the storefront with orders the restaurant's staff did not know had been placed.

Owner questions $19,000 in unexplained fees

Kamara also said the restaurant has been charged an unexplained fee listed as "adjustments" on its statements. Since joining the platform last year, she estimates Uber Eats has deducted $19,000 in these fees alone.

"Where is the money, like what is it being used for?" Kamara said. "I don't know if it's intentional or not, but it's definitely hurting small businesses. We could be making so much more, and especially in this economy, I need every dollar."

Kamara said the restaurant charges more for items ordered through third-party delivery apps to help offset the companies' fees. A typical bowl costs between $18 and $19, but the restaurant receives about $12 per order, she said. Kamara suspects the unexplained adjustment fees account for some of the difference.

"We just assumed that they were just taking their fees and giving us what was due to us," Kamara said. "It wasn't until we stopped getting payments over the last two months, which was $8,000-$9,000, [that] we started to go back and go through each line item and realize that not only are they not giving us the last two months, but every month they are taking this amount that we can't understand why."

Restaurant finds other businesses reporting similar issues

The Jollof Bowl shared its experience on social media, asking whether other businesses were facing similar problems.

"If it wasn't for the community's support, we could've gone out of business because of something like this," co-owner Lekan Oketunji said in a video.

The owners said they discovered that other businesses across the country, including in Maryland, were also reporting thousands of dollars in missing Uber Eats payments. The Jollof Bowl is now working with an attorney and considering a class-action lawsuit.

Uber Eats says it is reviewing the restaurant's concerns  

In a statement, Uber Eats said it was aware of the restaurant's concerns and had escalated the matter for review.

"We are aware of the concerns raised by Jollof Bowl regarding outstanding payments and account access. We take these matters seriously and have escalated the issue for further review. Our teams are actively working to better understand the circumstances and address the merchant's concerns," the company said.

Uber Eats also said it was contacting the restaurant directly to offer support and emphasized its efforts to protect businesses from scams. The company advised restaurant partners never to share account information, including passwords or verification codes, and said merchants who believe their accounts have been compromised should report it immediately.

Kamara criticized the company's response, saying she believes Uber Eats is withholding money that belongs to the restaurant.

Third-party delivery orders account for about one-third of The Jollof Bowl's revenue, with most of those orders coming through DoorDash and Uber Eats, Kamara said.

Restaurant encourages customers to order directly  

She is encouraging customers to order directly through the restaurant's website, which offers in-store pickup and the restaurant's own delivery service, independent of third-party platforms.