Contra Costa County caps third-party delivery fees charged to restaurants

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to temporarily cap fees charged to restaurants by third-party delivery companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash and GrubHub until COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on restaurants are lifted.

Under the ordinance, which applies to cities and unincorporated County areas, third-party delivery companies cannot charge restaurants more than 15 percent for online delivery orders or more than 10 percent for orders that customers pick up. Restaurants are typically charged as much as 30 percent.

Any third-party delivery company that charges in excess of the caps imposed by the County must provide a refund to the affected restaurant within 30 days, and has 10 days to respond in writing to the restaurant that believes the ordinance was violated.

“If a restaurant is dissatisfied with the response or the firm does not respond, the restaurant can enforce the ordinance in Superior Court,” the County said.

The County ordinance aims to support restaurants that have relied on delivery services to survive amid restrictions to indoor dining.