Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee calls out GrabFood user who botched his own orders to get refunds
Ethel Tseng
TNP
Oct 9, 2025
A wanton noodle stall in Ang Mo Kio has accused a customer of repeatedly filing false complaints to Grab, allegedly removing items from their own orders and receiving refunds for "missing" food.
In a Facebook post on Oct 1, Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee claimed that the same customer had made special requests through Grab and later reported missing items - a pattern that had occurred several times.
For this order, the customer had requested extra noodles and boiled wantons instead of fried ones.
As it was not the first time the stall had received similar complaints from this customer, staff members carefully documented the preparation process and verified that all items were packed before delivery.
"He still removed the items himself, snapped a photo, and filed a complaint to Grab," the stall wrote.
The post added that Grab had withheld payment to the stall because of the complaint, effectively giving the customer a free meal.
"Running F&B is already tough. Dishonest acts like this make it even harder for small businesses to survive," it said.
Customer repeatedly files complaints
In response to queries from The New Paper, stall owner Eleanor Ng, 44, said this was the third time the same customer had claimed that items were missing.
When the first complaint came in on June 23, she assumed it was a genuine mistake on their part. But when another was filed on Aug 4, she began to suspect something was amiss.
Both times, the business absorbed the cost of the meal.
"Every order means a lot to us, especially now that the F&B sector is really tough to survive in Singapore," she said.
Ms Ng said she later received a refund for the third complaint and has since filed a police report, though she has not yet received a response.
Common problem for businesses
Former F&B operator Khoo Keat Hwee, 38, said such cases are common in the industry.
Now a consultant, Mr Khoo previously ran 11 Japanese F&B outlets and told TNP that hawkers often face claims of missing items every two to three weeks.
When customers deny receiving their orders, he said he often lets the matter go because of the daily demands of running a business.
"There are so many food delivery platforms, and many hawkers are paying so much just to advertise on it," he said, noting that repeated complaints and bad reviews can hurt a stall's performance on delivery apps.
Mr Khoo added that in some cases, delivery riders might also tamper with food before it reaches customers.
"In the short run, it might not affect sales much, but in the long run, it will definitely have a detrimental impact," he said.
Netizens divided over customer's actions
When the incident was reposted on Instagram account sgfollowsall, it drew over 6,000 reactions and more than 100 comments.
Many netizens slammed the customer's actions as "cheapskate" and "xia suay", urging the stall to file a police report, with some calling the customer a "scammer" who "needs to be investigated."
One user questioned Grab's response to the complaint: "I too can finish the food first and take photo of the empty container and say everything is missing. Why will Grab even believe this type of feedback?"
Others said the customer should be blacklisted.
However, some felt the case wasn't serious enough to involve the police - while a few found humour in the situation. "Bro thought he unlocked the unlimited free refill hack," one joked.
Grab issues warning to customer
In response to TNP, a Grab spokesperson said the company reviews feedback from both customers and merchants on a case-by-case basis.
"In this case, the merchant had appealed the chargebacks, and refunds were made accordingly," the spokesperson said.
Grab added that it has reviewed the customer's past records and issued a warning in line with its Code of Conduct, and will "continue to review and strengthen safeguards" to ensure fairness for both merchants and customers.
