Delhi sneaker brand alleges employee used 100% discount codes to order $2,400 worth of shoes before quitting

A Delhi-based sneaker brand has accused a former employee of exploiting internal systems to generate unauthorized 100 per cent discount codes and ordering merchandise worth approximately ₹2 lakh (about $2,400) before quitting within a week.

The allegations were shared publicly by Arjun Singh, founder of Gully Labs, in a post on X. According to Singh, the employee was hired for a customer service (CS) role and allegedly misused backend access during his first week at the company.

“We hired a CS person a couple of months ago. Within the first week of joining, he made INR 2L of 100% discount orders — sent to his friends and quit in a week,” Singh wrote.

The company claims the employee created full-discount codes, placed multiple orders using those codes, and had the shoes shipped to friends rather than to himself. The issue reportedly came to light shortly after the orders were processed.

Singh said that when confronted, the former employee initially agreed to cooperate and returned about half of the merchandise. However, the remaining products had already been used and could not be recovered.

The situation escalated further when, according to the founder, the former employee sent legal notices accusing the company of harassment after it demanded either the return of the remaining products or reimbursement for the losses.

“Then he started sending legal notices that we were harassing him in response to our notice to return the products or reimburse us,” Singh stated, adding that the company is now tightening backend permissions and implementing stronger internal controls to prevent similar incidents.

Following the revelation, the incident sparked widespread debate on social media. Many users sympathized with the startup but also pointed out that weak internal controls may have contributed to the situation.

One user commented that such incidents can damage trust within early-stage companies, forcing founders to implement stricter oversight measures that increase operational complexity. Others emphasized the importance of putting guardrails in place from the beginning rather than relying solely on trust.

In response, Gully Labs said it is strengthening its backend systems by introducing stricter access permissions and monitoring mechanisms. The company hopes these measures will prevent misuse of internal tools while maintaining efficiency as it continues to grow.