SEATTLE - A Capitol Hill restaurant owner is set to receive tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid sales after months of payment delays from Uber Eats, following inquiries into the missing funds.
Joy Kim, owner of Kyoto Teriyaki, 803 E Pike St, has been waiting since November 2025 for Uber Eats to disburse approximately $40,000 generated from nearly 1,500 orders.
Joy Kim, owner of Kyoto Teriyaki, 803 E Pike St, has been waiting since November 2025 for Uber Eats to disburse approximately $40,000 generated from nearly 1,500 orders.
Months of Unresolved Payment Delays
The backstory:
Despite working with the delivery platform since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim encountered repeated obstacles while trying to collect her business's earnings.
She documented dozens of email exchanges with support representatives and updated her bank information through the platform, but the money was never transferred.
"I called. They said, 'Send an email'. So, I sent an email," Kim explained. "They said other people [were] working to close it," Kim said. "[They] kept saying that. So, I said this is not working."
Her son and restaurant manager, Jhoonho Kim, said watching his mother navigate the repeated dead ends while managing ongoing business expenses became increasingly frustrating.
"To hear them kind of talk, kind of like, somewhat condescendingly sometimes and just, like, watching her, you know, following the steps they're telling her and just like getting nothing back," Jhoonho Kim said.
Joy Kim's son and restaurant manager, Jhoonho Kim, said watching his mother navigate the repeated dead ends while managing ongoing business expenses became increasingly frustrating.
Uber Points to Security Verification Issues
What they're saying:
Uber attributed the delay to security protocols, stating that the situation required extra identity verification before funds could be released to the merchant.
"We take issues involving merchant payments and account access seriously. We've been working directly with this merchant to resolve this matter, including conducting account verifications," an Uber spokesperson said. "We have confirmed that all outstanding payments are currently being expedited and are expected to be received tomorrow."
The spokesperson added that the process required additional identity verification to protect account security and that representatives made multiple attempts to reach Kim without success.
"Once the video verification was successfully completed in late July, we were able to complete the verification process and move forward with processing the outstanding payment," the spokesperson said. "We've also updated the account's primary contact information at the merchant's request and will continue working directly with them to ensure any remaining questions are resolved."
Balancing Small Business Operations and Delivery Apps
Dig deeper:
The extended payment delay placed the small business in a difficult financial position regarding its reliance on third-party delivery applications.
"This has left, like, a very sour taste in, you know, our mouth about using Uber but, like, if we were to stop using Uber, that's just like another revenue stream cut off from us," Jhoonho Kim said.
Despite the operational challenges, Joy Kim noted that the restaurant continues to fulfill orders through the platform to serve its local customer base.
"They still using the Uber to coming every single day. So, we cannot, you know, ignore those things," Kim said. "We have to respect and appreciate the customers. We have to keep it."
The Source: Information for this story came from FOX 13 Seattle original reporting.
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