An Athlone man is dikbek at Uber Eats after a driver allegedly left his kos on the pavement.
Lester Mulligan from Belgravia Road says when he came outside, the driver and the food was weg.
Mulligan, 54, says he ordered a Nando’s meal via the Uber Eats app on Friday, 20 September, around 6pm, and paid R326.26 including a tip.
He says he was able to track his meal on the app.
He explains: “When the app said the driver is close by, I went to sit in the lounge and waited because usually the driver will hoot, message or phone to say they have arrived.
“But nothing like that happened. All I received from the driver was a photo on the app of my food on the pavement outside my wall to say the food had arrived.
“I was shocked because their protocol is that they must not leave food on the pavement, it is unhygienic. When I ran outside the food was gone.
“I phoned Nando’s [in Athlone] and they gave me numbers for Uber Eats and eventually I got through to their [Uber Eats] complaints department. They apologised and said they would evaluate the situation.”
“I reordered my food and paid again, expecting a refund. I got an email from Uber Eats to say that their driver said he followed the correct protocols and I am not eligible for a refund on my account.”
The email issued to Mulligan read: “Hi Lester, we reviewed your order again and can confirm that it isn’t eligible for a refund. The delivery partner followed our policy and waited the required amount of time at the delivery address before marking the order as completed.”
Mulligan says he should be reimbursed as the driver should have waited for him to accept the kos and adds: “I can’t say the driver stole the food, I think someone else took it.
“I regularly use the app but now I’m done. The driver did not message or call me. Why did he leave the food in the street? Is this their policy?”
According to an Uber spokesperson: “We encourage our customers to check the app for the arrival time of their orders and report any incidents that may occur.
“The customer can provide the delivery partner with a PIN, which both parties must share upon delivery.
“This acts as a security measure to confirm that the order was delivered to the customer.
“Customers are also able to provide specific delivery instructions which delivery partners should read when accepting an order. If delivery partners cannot find the customer, we encourage them to contact them in the app by sending them a message or calling them.”