Houston restaurant waiting on $20K payment from Uber Eats

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Delivery has become a go-to during the pandemic and it undoubtedly helped save many small businesses. But a Houston restaurant says it's been a headache.

The Garcia family opened Birria Los Primos in the Underground Hall in downtown Houston in March of this year.

"It was still very slow. Downtown Houston was a little empty, so we were really depending on these delivery apps to bring us business," explained Emily Garcia, manager of Birria Los Primos.

In April, Garcia realized payments from orders placed through Uber Eats were not coming through. She said she then updated their bank account information with the company.

"That took about another month. Then in June, we were told it had been updated and we would be getting our payments and they should be coming through. It's now July, and we still haven't seen anything," said Garcia.

Garcia said around 700 orders have been placed through Uber Eats, which means, as of Tuesday, they are waiting on around $20,000 -- a good chunk of change, especially for a small business.

"It's not only us, but it's the livelihood of the people [who] work with us. They have families, they have kids, they have bills to pay," said Garcia.

Garcia said she's sent several emails and since June has been calling the Uber Eats restaurant support number.

"It's always the same thing. It's being looked at, another department is handling it," explained Garcia.

When ABC13 reached out to Uber Eats, the company sent the following statement:

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Upon review, we are working through our standard payment verification process with this restaurant. Our team is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and has reached out to the restaurant to discuss."

An Uber representative said this mix-up got started when the restaurant used a third-party to sign up with Uber Eats. He went on to say once the restaurant provides them with the needed personal information, they will be able to pay them.