Thanet council has confirmed an investigation is taking place after a complaint that a Margate takeaway delivered food that had been partially eaten and touched by at least one other customer to a Birchington woman.
The council’s Public Protection officer visited the Ramsgate Fried Chicken premises in Ramsgate Road yesterday (May 5) after two upset customers complained that food was retrieved from one address after it was discovered the wrong order had been delivered but then taken directly to another customer despite having been opened, touched and partially eaten before the error was discovered.
Mum-of-four Jess Oakley, from Birchington, made the initial order last Saturday. The 26-year-old said: “We ordered from Just Eat. After our delivery being 30 minutes late, I called them to see where our food was. They told us the driver had just left and we would get our food ASAP.
“About 10/15 minutes later, the food arrived, and while I left the room to wash my hands as the delivery was not contact free, my partner started to eat his food. I came in the room and realised the order was wrong so I phoned the company again.
“They told us to bag up the food and the driver would come and correct it. I said we had eaten some of the food and the person told me “to bag up what you haven’t eaten to go to the right people.”
“So, we had eaten somebody else’s meal, handled their food, and given it back to the driver to get our own food. The driver then left to deliver to two other houses in Crescent Road, Birchington, and Station Road Birchington. I know the road names as when I was on the phone the lady stated them.”
Customer Rosie Bicknall says when her order arrived it was initially wrong and again the driver had to go to a third address and then return. She says she too had opened the order and handled the food whilst checking it and believes this was delivered directly to the other address
Rosie says several pieces of her order were missing but it was not until the next day when she was alerted to a social media post by Jess, who was trying to track down the other customers involved, that she realised her meal had been handled in at least one, possibly two, other homes.
She said: “With everything going on (with coronavirus) I was just disgusted to think other people had handled my food. I am already suffering anxiety about Corona and now know my food was handled and eaten by someone else then brought back to me to eat. I’m livid.”
In an email sent to one of the complainants a Thanet council officer said the food and hygiene rating at the takeaway, currently a four, has ‘been adjusted,’ although the business has 28 days to appeal this before the new score is public.
The officer added: “I have made it abundantly clear that they need to take a number of measures in order to make their takeaway service safe and will continue to support them in doing this so that they can get it right in the future.”
A Thanet council spokesman added: “This case is currently under investigation.”
Jess says she received a refund and a voucher from Just Eat. The company also told her it would ‘review’ the takeaway business.
Ramsgate Fried Chicken was contacted but declined to comment.
Sorry, I got a little hungry while I was on the way with this delivery.
It wasn’t very good anyway, as my false teeth got stuck in the chicken, when I took a bite.
Why would you run to the press about this? Let the council deal with it. Anything for a bit of publicity me thinks.
And it’s wrong to comment or release an article like this during an investigation when the final facts aren’t yet known.
If this woman Jess is that concerned about her food and the coronavirus why would she order food that she can’t see being prepared or handled? She obviously can’t be that concerned then.
Something not right here.
It was right to publish this so others can see what is going on with ‘Just Eat’ and the premises they use. Only tonight relatives living in elsewhere using Just Eat had the very same experience and had to call them up to get the wrong order returned after they had opened it. They were told the driver would collect it and take it to the correct customer, but it would have been cold by then.
It is very risky having takeaway food delivered as you just don’t know where it has been.