French customers of food delivery platform Deliveroo received illegal and unsolicited bills for hundreds of euros for ordering pizza and they have failed to see the funny side of the April Fools joke.
On April 1, thousands of delivery platform customers across France received confirmation emails for orders totalling over €450 (£380; $530).
April Fools Joke
Many have taken to social media to express their anger at the stunt.
Late Thursday Deliveroo informed its customers via Twitter and email that it was not hoping for any bill payments from the customers and that it was all an April Fools prank,l.
“We can confirm that it was an April Fool joke,” read the clarification. “You can enjoy the evening by ordering your favorite pizza.”
Irritated Fans
But few customers were not so amused. One of them said he “almost had a stroke” after receiving a € 466 invoice for 38 pizzas he had never ordered.
Many recipients say they got in a hurry and panic mode and tried to call their banks to block any payments.
“This is chicken-brain communications,” another angry customer tweeted.
Fake invoices include the customer name above the message, preceded by the words “Best choice”. Deliveroo added that as a reward for honesty, 50 free hot sauce sachets were served for free with the order.
In France, as in many other countries, the platform saw an increase in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic among restaurant-based restrictions.
