Q regarding Menulog taking payment for food orders when restaurant cannot deliver.

Hi guys,

I wish to enquire as to the legal issues surrounding the following scenario.

Menulog provides a food delivery service for a number of restaurants. On their site they list your local restaurants and allow you to order online. If the restaurant is closed, then the site does not let you order - that is, if it is outside the business hours of the restaurant.

Recently I have placed a number of orders that were not delivered. In the first two cases, I received a call twenty minutes after placing the order, advising me that the restaurant 'didn't have a driver for the night'. They then said my credit card would be refunded 'in 2-3 days'.

The third time, I placed the order and waited for 50 minutes, before I received a phone call advising me the restaurant was closed. This night I had people round and we were getting pizza. After waiting an hour my guests had to leave as they didn't have time to wait another hour and then eat and get home in time to put kids to bed etc.

I was wondering which laws govern this sort of transaction. While Menulog is essentially a middle-man for third parties, it is to Menulog that I pay the money. As I see it, it is Menulog's responsibility to ensure a restaurant is open. Taking payment for a service that cannot be rendered, and then essentially keeping that money from me for 3 days, seems entirely unethical (not to mention incredibly inconvenient).

What say you, o wise ones?