UK's Just Eat faces probe after woman tweets chat-up texts from 'delivery guy'

[DGRossetti]

www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/16/ico_just_eat_data_breach_inquiry/

A customer of takeaway delivery firm Just Eat has alleged a driver from an eatery used her phone number to ask her for a date.

Michelle Midwinter claimed that, after using Just Eat to order a takeaway, she had received an uninvited WhatsApp message from someone she didn’t know.

According to screenshots shared on Twitter, the person first said he was “a fan” and then identified himself as the driver who had just delivered her meal.

He went on to ask if she enjoyed her meal, and then followed up minutes later with a message saying: “If you have a [boyfriend] tell me, I don’t want to make any problems”.

About 20 minutes later, she alleged, the driver upped the creepy levels by reportedly saying: “Good night [baby] see you next time when I get your meal.”

The use of Midwinter’s phone number for anything other than an update on the whereabouts of her food could be a breach of privacy laws - and the Information Commissioner’s Office said it would be investigating.

“If a customer’s phone number is used for reasons for which it was not originally taken, it could be a breach of the Data Protection Act,” a spokesperson said.

“Organisations have a legal duty to make sure personal data is only used for the purposes for which it was obtained. We are aware of reports of an incident involving Just Eat and will be looking into it.”

Although the driver is not an employee of Just Eat - he would have been hired by the restaurant, as the firm offers customers a single site to place orders - the biz still has a responsibility to protect its customers’ data.

The restaurant involved has not been named, but Just Eat said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned" about the incident and would investigate.

The firm said that it “takes the safeguarding of customer data extremely seriously” and that information is shared with restaurants “solely for the purpose of facilitating delivery”.

The driver, it added, “has acted in a way that does not represent Just Eat and our core values”.

However, when Midwinter initially complained to Just Eat she reported getting a very different response, which she said was “extremely disappointing”.

[MistressDeeCee]

How awful,creepy and entitled. I'd hate the thought he knew where I lived. To think that she wasn't given satisfactory response when she complained to Just Eat - Its getting depressing, this lack of regard for women and the right to not have our personal space invaded

[cdtaylornats]

It's hard to see how Just Eat could avoid passing on the customers details