THE QUEENS
Flushing small business owner takes action
against DoorDash claims of fraud allegation
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Flushing small business owner David
Liu is sounding the alarm on DoorDash’s
business practices aft er the food delivery
platform terminated his merchant
account for alleged fraudulent activity.
“We fi gured if DoorDash is doing this
to us, and we’re just a small shop in
Queens, they can be doing this to anyone,”
said Eric Leung, Liu’s business partner.
“Th ere’s other businesses that could
be going through this same exact situation,
but the owner’s fi rst language is not
English, or they don’t know how to navigate
these legal processes or report to
news stations.”
Liu, the owner of A-Crepe, located at
42-35 Main St. had to temporarily close
his shop due to a family emergency, and
won’t be able to reopen until early March.
On top of dealing with family concerns,
Liu was in shock on Jan. 19 when he
checked his bank account and noticed
that DoorDash, the food delivery service
that has exploded in popularity during
the pandemic, had withdrawn a total of
$46,700 earned from sales and proceeds.
Leung, speaking on behalf of Liu, said
DoorDash closed their account abruptly,
without any notice last month. A few days
later, DoorDash terminated the account
without any explanation aft er making the
withdrawal.
“All within one day, without warning.
Aft er that occurred we were really
confused,” Leung said “Th is is literally
months and months of revenue — we
have rent, bills and other expenses to pay
and we can’t aff ord to without this money.”
According to Leung, DoorDash had
access to their account number. Th e company
did an automated clearing house
(ACH) transfer to pull funds from the
account. Th e business partners were able
to recover $32,000 aft er disputing with
Bank of America, and fi lled out an affi -
davit stating an unauthorized ACH debit
transaction. Th e bank did what they
could, Leung said, but could not recover
around $14,000. Th e remaining funds
were still withheld by DoorDash.
Leung said DoorDash withheld their
last week of sales ($4,865) under the
premise and allegation that its merchant
account had committed fraud.
“Th e support staff was not truthful or
honest when they stated that the payment
was sent; we have bank statements that
show our sales revenue never arrived,”
Leung said.
When they had contacted DoorDash
numerous times through phone calls
and emails for an explanation as to
why their account was canceled without
notice, Leung said a representative had
cited fraudulent activity, but didn’t provide
any further information.
In an email sent to A-Crepe on Jan. 19,
a DoorDash representative said, “Th e
only specifi cs we can provide is that
the terms of services have been violated
through fraud and when that happens,
they will not reactivate the store. I apologize
for the inconvenience.”
Confused by DoorDash’s allegation of
fraud, Leung said they had asked for evidence
and the specifi cs on what terms of
service were violated, but never received
an actual response.
“It’s quite confusing when someone
accuses you of something, and you ask
them and own up to it and be accountable
and they won’t tell you,” Leung
said. “I’m horrifi ed that we live in a
time where these big tech companies
can brazenly cancel you and withhold
your money, without an explanation and
not answer to you. If we did something
wrong, then we’re willing to fi x it. But
we don’t even get the chance to.”
A DoorDash representative confi rmed
to QNS that Liu and Leung’s account
was fl agged for potential fraudulent
behavior by an automated and manual
detection system that identifi es any
fraudulent behavior to protect members
of the community.
“DoorDash always works to ensure
we off er the highest quality of service,
especially at a time when every order
counts. Upon investigation, we’ve identifi
ed fraudulent activity associated with
this account. We will work with the
merchant directly on a solution and we
remain committed to supporting and
protecting our community,” a DoorDash
representative told QNS.
Last week, aft er Liu and Leung
appeared on NY1 news explaining their
situation, DoorDash had returned about
$4,000 from sales and proceeds to the
business partners, Leung said.Th ey
were able to recover around $18,000 or
so, but there’s still a slight discrepancy
between what they calculated and what
DoorDash returned, which is still in dispute,
according to Leung.
Leung said he is bothered by the fact
that DoorDash is alleging the $46,700
plus $4,865 were withheld due to “terms
of service violations,” which the company
didn’t provide any evidence of.
“Th is was a central point in our story
and defense, not just for the massive
sum of money, as we have emphasized,
if there was actual wrongdoing, then we
will own up and resolve it. But the fact
that DoorDash has refused and failed to
provide any evidence or further details,
has us suspecting if the allegations were
even real or just made up,” Leung said.
As their fi ght with DoorDash became
a nightmare, Leung said they wish for
no one to experience what they’ve been
through with the company. Th ey’re currently
using other food delivery platforms
such as GrubHub and UberEats.
Aft er the situation is resolved, they’re
planning to sever all ties with DoorDash.
“I’m just grateful that we were able to
pretty much recover all of our funds,
which was ours,” Leung said. “Th ere was
a lot of grief and emotional distress, and
we are meeting with a lawyer to see if
there is a legal route we can pursue.”
Leung’s message to all small business
owners: Don’t be afraid to speak up.
“If we can do it, then anyone can do
it. I just want people to stand up for
what is right, and that’s all for the power
of community. We will stand together
for what’s right and tell those big companies
we’re not going to get bullied,”
Leung said.
MARCH 2021
We will stand
together for what’s
right and tell those
big companies we’re
not going to get
bullied.
— Eric Leung
Photo by Eric Leung
David Liu, owner of A-Crepe in Flushing, says DoorDash claims he violated the food delivery
company’s Terms of Service but didn’t provide an explanation.
link
link
