After Quebec’s food and agriculture ministry asked, SkipTheDishes has agreed to lower its commission fees to 15 per cent.
In an email to Global News, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed the news Thursday, adding that Uber Eats and Door Dash have decided not to comply.
“In this case, we are studying other scenarios to have them respect our demand,” the spokesperson said.
SkipTheDishes CEO Kevin Edwards says “they have voluntarily lowered their commissions in affected regions of Quebec as part of our support package.”
READ MORE: Montreal restaurant files class action against ‘abusive’ delivery fees during pandemic
“We continue to work side-by-side with our restaurant partners to provide direct, impactful support to local, independent restaurant partners across the province,” he added.
DoorDash issued a statement Thursday afternoon, saying it is in touch with the Quebec government to find solutions. But the company also expressed concerns about regulations on commissions.
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“Pricing regulations could cause us to increase costs for customers, which could lead to fewer orders for local restaurants and fewer earning opportunities for Dashers,” the company said. “Pricing regulations can also remove options available to restaurants by limiting their ability to opt-in to additional services to help their business.”
Uber Eats has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, the city of Montreal called on the province to regulate how much food delivery companies can charge restaurants in commission fees, after hearing some charge fees of up to 30 per cent.
The city said they noticed other provinces like British Columbia and Ontario had imposed a maximum fee of 15 per cent, and wanted Quebec to follow suit.
READ MORE: Montreal wants to see cap on fees charged by food delivery apps
One restauranteur claims fees are so “abusive and exorbitant,” that it pushed him to file a class-action lawsuit against Uber Eats, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes.
“Cap the fees at 50 per cent lower — 15 instead of 30 per cent — it would make a huge difference,” said Emmanuel Darmond, owner of Deli Boyz and the lead plaintiff in the case. “It’s almost if we will survive or not.”
The court application, which still needs to be authorized, seeks damages in the form of money paid to the companies in commissions above 15 per cent since Jan. 8, 2018.
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