Leyton Market traders are furious after insisting they were misled into spending £25,000 on stalls for an “Olympic” food market.
The traders claimed they were duped by organisers about how many people would visit their stalls during the Games.
Nearly 5,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org, asking for their money back from North London Business, which sold them the pitches for the market. Its chief executive Gary Ince has since resigned following the market's "apparent failure", according to a statement from the organisation.
Trader Donna Thomas, who claims she lost more than £27,000, set up the petition.
“We were told there would be around 80,000 people walking past our stalls every day; I took £110 in the first three days and, like dozens of other traders, I've been forced to close down," said Thomas.
Traders have criticised the lack of promotion, including council leaflets welcoming Olympic visitors to the borough which advised pedestrians to walk a different route through Leyton to the Olympic Park, bypassing the market. Both the council and its contractors Skateco have blamed each other for the market's failure.
A council spokeswoman said: "The council strongly denies making any misleading statements to NLB or Skateco.
"Visitor numbers have been lower than expected across the capital and we are of course disappointed that this has had a negative impact on businesses within the borough."
Brian Jokat, director of Skateco, said in an earlier statement that the council had "let down" traders and his firm.
He said: "The council had told us and other local businesses that in excess of 30,000 people could realistically be expected on some Games days.
"We were told that there would be a regular flow of visitors to the Olympic Park from nearby Leyton Underground station and that people would be drawn to the market by local signage and council-produced leaflets.
“All of this would have generated significant passing trade for the market and its stalls but, sadly, none of it has been delivered in reality."
The petition now has over 5,000 signatures and can be viewed here.
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