Dubai: Food delivery must show full, clear prices

Dubai has set new rules for online food delivery platforms to remove hidden charges and increase transparency, aiming to protect consumers and boost industry standards.

On Tuesday, the Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade (DCCPFT) announced that food delivery companies must now give a clear breakdown of delivery and service fees, and avoid adding any “hidden” costs.

As part of Dubai Economy and Tourism, the DCCPFT released this framework to ensure food delivery businesses stay transparent and fair, maintain strong business practices, and attract more investment into the sector.

General transparency rules:

• Food delivery platforms must use simple, clear, and easy-to-understand language.
• All important information must be shown clearly and be easy for customers to notice.
• Disclosures must look the same across all versions of the platform (websites, mobile apps, tablets) and across operating systems (iOS, Android).
• No information that may affect customer decisions can be hidden or left out.

According to the guidelines on the DET website, all fees and commissions must be clearly shown to customers to avoid confusion. Delivery platforms must provide a full breakdown of costs before checkout, including food prices, delivery charges (with details if they vary by location), service or convenience fees, and taxes.

Hidden charges are not allowed. This means no extra fees can be added after payment if they were not shown at checkout. Any service fees, surcharges, or price changes without notifying customers first may go against these rules.

Use of “Exclusive”

The term “exclusive” should only apply to genuine items, special offers, discounts, or promotions and cannot mislead customers. The language must be straightforward and clear. If such “exclusive” deals are available only on one platform and not on others, that must also be clearly mentioned.

Transparency in subscription models

For subscription-based services, platforms should not pass hidden or unfair costs to restaurants. They cannot use unclear methods such as extra delivery fees, higher commissions, or bundled charges to recover subscription benefits.

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Source: Khaleej Times