DoorDash Sued For Allegedly Branding Customer A Fraudster After Delivery Photo Query

Phyllis Jager, CEO of New York-based creative agency zuMedia, has perhaps, like some of you, privacy concerns about the pictures DoorDash drivers take to prove they've correctly made their deliveries.

When she raised those concerns with the gig delivery service, DoorDash retaliated against her by designating her as a fraudster, or so she claims in a recently filed lawsuit that alleges breach of contract, defamation, fraud, false advertising, and other violations of the law.

Accusing the delivery giant of defamation, the lawsuit claims that in November 2024, it "falsely flagged Jager as a fraudster."

Jager filed an initial complaint [PDF] against DoorDash on December 2, 2024, accusing the app maker of breach of its consumer terms of service for falsely claiming that she used another person's credit card.

"As Jager orders meals for zuMedia personnel on her own DoorDash account, she uses her zuMedia corporate credit card, issued in her name or her own personal credit card, to pay for those orders," the complaint reads. "But upon Jager verifying the card she uses for the account, DoorDash informed her it was cancelling her account because, according to DoorDash, she was fraudulently using a card that does not belong to her."

Jager argues that DoorDash only took action against her after she questioned the privacy of photographs taken by DoorDash drivers that are used to demonstrate delivery. DoorDash customers often receive these images from delivery drivers via text message to show that the "Dashers" have fulfilled the orders. Jager, however, has doubts about the extent to which DoorDash has control, if any, over these images.

"These photographs clearly are unnecessary to the delivery process," the December complaint says. "They would be concerning even if they were being taken only to satisfy the prying curiosity of a Dasher. But the photographs are especially concerning to Jager (and presumably to other DoorDash users who become aware of these practices) because their more likely purpose is the surreptitious collection by Dashers and their accomplices of information about zuMedia's premises and vehicles."

Claiming that DoorDash has no known policy on the retention and use of photographs taken by drivers (Dashers), the complaint contends that these images could be used for vehicle thefts, burglaries, or the abduction of children – a theoretical possibility for any photographs of property and people.

Jager, whose company initially claimed to have placed $2 million in DoorDash orders since 2021 – later revised to $3.4 million in the updated complaint – allegedly tried to initiate an informal dispute resolution conference with DoorDash on November 6, 2024.

"Instead, DoorDash has sought to avoid addressing the dispute by simply terminating Jager's account and blocking her from receiving services by cancelling her DoorDash account on a pretextual basis," the December complaint claims.

That complaint was voluntarily dismissed on March 7. A new complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York the same day, and again on March 10, due to what appears to be a filing error.

The new complaint [PDF] has expanded from 17 pages to 83, adding allegations of fraud and false advertising. It also delves into DoorDash's legal woes and controversies, in part to support allegations that the delivery giant fails to adequately vet its drivers.

The court filing observes that there are at least 136 lawsuits against DoorDash pending in the US. "These actions assert causes of action ranging from liability for Dashers' criminal conduct, to stealing Dasher tips and anti-competitive practices," the complaint says.

It further claims that DoorDash is aware that "many Dashers rent or give out their accounts to others – persons who are not verified by any background check before they start taking DoorDash orders."

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Additionally, it claims that Dashers may invite unvetted third parties to ride with them. Citing media reports of driver misbehavior, the lawsuit speculates: "Many of these riders are likely using their time riding with Dashers to case consumers' residences so that they can later return to burgle the home, steal vehicles in the driveway or kidnap the children who live there."

The legal filing goes on to accuse DoorDash of stealing drivers' tips. "Upon information and belief, based on Jager's recent discussions with a former Dasher, as recently as late 2024, when a consumer pays a tip to a Dasher through the DoorDash app, DoorDash does not give the entire amount of the tip to the Dasher," the latest complaint claims.

The fraud allegation arises from the claim that DoorDash's $2.99 Express fee – for faster delivery – doesn't actually accelerate delivery.

In support of that assertion, the complaint cites a study by United States Oversight, Inc – owned by NY-based zuMedia – of ten separate DoorDash food orders made by six study participants in Brooklyn, New York, Jersey City, New Jersey, and Dallas, Texas.

"Four Dashers acknowledged that they had no knowledge of the express delivery option being part of the orders, adding that there was nothing visually reflecting that option on their phones and two Dashers claimed to have delivered the order in a direct manner, with no additional order just prior," the complaint contends.

Following the recitation of DoorDash's supposed shortcomings, the legal salvo takes aim at the delivery outfit's alleged response to Jager's challenge of driver photography: "[Tagging] Jager as a fraudster and [requiring] her to input a special PIN each time a Dasher arrived with the order."

The PIN requirement is used by DoorDash to prevent fraud, it is claimed. The lawsuit argues that Jager's reputation is harmed by sticking her with a PIN-entry obligation.

What's more, the latest complaint contends that DoorDash has denied that Jager made thousands of orders with the biz. "On or about November 18, 2024, a DoorDash customer service representative, while on the phone with Jager, informed Jager that DoorDash had no record of any of the over 4,000 transactions that Jager made through the DoorDash website since 2021," the complaint claims, calling this a retaliatory scheme intended to deter litigation.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and at least $10 million in damages.

DoorDash did not respond to a request for comment. ®