Deliveroo driver stole my order

[TurraeaFloribunda]

Last night, I ordered a bottle of brandy from Deliveroo (for the Christmas cake, in case you are wondering 😂).

Deliveroo’s T&Cs state that you must show valid ID to buy age restricted items (not just customers who appear under 25, as per the law) to verify your age. The ID and date of birth must match the details the customer has provided to Deliveroo. You must also give the rider a PIN for all orders to ensure that you are the person who placed the order, regardless of whether the items are age restricted.

I let the driver into the building and they came to my flat. When I opened the door, he just stood there, leaning on the doorway blocking the door, intensely glaring at me in silence (wearing his motorcycle helmet). It felt very intimidating and I was quite taken aback. He seemed very angry. Eventually, he said ID please. I shut the door and got my ID, putting the chain on the door before I opened it again because I felt unsafe. He continued to stare at me, didn’t look at my ID, did something on his phone then walked away with the brandy. I asked him what he was doing. He said, “You are rude. I am reporting you to Deliveroo.”

He didn’t. What he actually did was say that I had failed to provide value ID. Deliveroo are refusing to refund because they say it is my word against his that I didn’t have ID. They won’t refund age restricted items that aren’t delivered because the purchaser doesn’t have ID. Is that term legal? FWIW, I am more than 2 x 25 years old, as documented on their app that requires a date of birth to match the ID you give, so there was certainly no legal reason to require ID, it is purely their own T&Cs.

Do a chargeback on your card but keep it simple. Goods were not received.

Did you just shut the door without saying “hang on a mo, I’ll just grab my ID”?

I read that as you were rude, if the interaction was as you said.

You let him in the building, answered your flat door and just stared at each other. (I always greet delivery people with a hello, minimally, but everyone's different.)

Eventually he asked for your ID, and despite knowing that you had to show ID, you didn't have it on you. There was presumably time to have got this between answering the main door and him arriving at your flat door? (I keep my purse with Driving Licence near the door when expecting a delivery requiring ID, but again, we are all different.)

So then without a word you closed the door on him, returned after an unknown length of time and showed him the ID through the chained door. As you felt unsafe, I imagine you held it close to you, making it difficult for him to read. At this point, he'd had enough, so refused service.

I don't use Deliveroo or similar services, so unsure on the refund policies. I would think an item would need to be returned to the store and refunded, before they would issue you a refund. That all takes the driver time, so is there a charge for this?

Hopefully a chargeback will work.

Also, why say he stole your order? It is Deliveroo refusing a refund, as they acknowledge the lack of ID was why you don't have the bottle, not that the item had been delivered and allegedly stolen.

I think closing the door in his face was rude. Didn't you say "hang on mate, I'll just get my ID" or something? He wasn't staring at you, he was waiting for you to produce your ID - which you should have had ready. Instead of which you just continued to stare back at him in silence. I very much doubt he wanted to waste his precious time playing games with you (time is money). And he didn't steal your bottle, he just refused to give it to you.

Yes I read it as rude as well - particularly shutting the door in his face - it’s one thing to say you felt unsafe but your behaviour was hostile in response. He didn’t actually do anything wrong did he? And he was pleasant when he asked you for your ID.

So, how's the Christmas cake? I hope you got some brandy for it elsewhere - must have been getting a bit dry if you suddenly needed a bottle last night and it couldn't wait until, say, your next shop.

This is legal matters not AIBU!

Goods were ordered and not received, the rest is just fluff.

It doesn’t matter if she was rude or not.
The driver lied about no ID.

Surely it can’t be true/correct that if ID goods can’t be delivered due to no ID then the customer isn’t refunded. Where are the goods then? I think this is an error or maybe fraud

Unbelievable. This is legal matters not AIBU.

He was not just standing outside my door waiting looking expectantly for my ID. As I said, he was right up in the doorway with his arm blocking it. He was staring intensely into my eyes, holding my gaze. It was very deliberate. His intention, for whatever reason, was to intimidate me before I had even opened the door.

There was nothing polite about the way he asked for my ID, despite the words being superficially polite. He then continued to stare at me without saying anything when I showed him my ID.

Of course, I told him I was getting my ID. I probably could have reached it without closing the door but my instinct was to shut it.

I say he stole it, @CatsorDogsrule because he did. He lied that I didn’t show him valid ID.

I already did a chargeback and complained about him. Deliveroo can challenge a chargeback though, hence my legal question. Thank you to those posters who have offered helpful advice rather than criticising my Christmas cake and manners.

Surely Deliveroo are obliged to give you a refund under the law? They can’t just take your money and not give you the goods?

Im thinking you were a bit weird and rude but also he may well have stolen your order as according to deliveroo:

• The alcohol products, once they cannot be delivered, are typically disposed of responsibly by the rider as instructed by the app (though sometimes they are returned to the store, depending on the store's policy and location).

So if he didn’t have to return it, he could potentially keep the alcohol. Which seems like a mad policy to me. No incentive to look at your ID.

Of course people are going to comment on rudeness given that this was the reason you said he gave you to not issue you with the product - rightly or wrongly. If you raise it as a key component as to why the transaction went wrong then people will comment on it.

You knew you needed to show ID so why didn’t you have it ready?

Deliveroo are refusing to refund you. Why are you saying the driver stole it? Just because he walked away carrying it? He would have updated this on a drop down menu on his phone.

Hi Op- just to say that it is legal for couriers go refuse to deliver age restricted goods without ID- they have the same responsibilities and accountability as someone serving alcohol in person in a shop.

of course , you did show him your ID but that’s the but that’s disputed part.

it sounds like he returned the brandy though, he didn’t steal it?

Deliveroo makes it clear you’ll need ID when you buy an age-restricted product. It tells you to have your ID ready.

Why didn't you have your ID with you when you answered the door?

Report him to the police for theft

Hello. I am a lawyer. When you order something from Deliveroo that you know requires ID, you get plenty of updates through the app “driver is picking up your order/on the way”. If you opened the door without your ID and then didn’t even say “just going to get my ID”, then tbh I think this problem is partly of your making.

It doesn’t follow that the driver stole it, just because Deliveroo doesn’t want to refund you immediately. A cheap bottle of brandy (assume it was the cheap stuff if just for a cake) isn’t prime theft material.

I’d have another look at the ts and cs because it’s unlikely a big business like Deliveroo has a term that says they don’t have to issue any refund if the customer didn’t produce ID. That is potentially unfair for the purposes of UCTA. Moreover, if you make a fuss about the fact that you didn’t know who it would be at the door and just closed the door while going to get your ID, by which time the driver had gone, I doubt they’ll take a chance on it.

Why waste their time, when he did no such thing?

You can't do a chargeback while it's still just an Auth 🙄

For a lawyer, your reading comprehension needs work

I would expect that people would also read that the man was standing In the doorway acting in a physically intimidating manner, @Arlanymor.

I wasn’t rude. He walked off without saying anything. It was only when I asked what he was doing that he said I was rude and he had reported me to Deliveroo (obviously he didn’t, he just selected “no ID). Maybe he thought I would be too embarrassed to complain if he said that?

Ny ID was ready, @Crofthead. Normally, I open the door then take it from the hall shelf. I didn’t feel safe doing that with the door open this time.

He did steal it. I showed him valid ID. He had no legal reason to refuse to give me the goods I had paid for. As a PP said, the rider is supposed to dispose of alcohol if the person doesn’t have ID. I doubt he did 😂 Whether he took it home or threw it away, he took the brandy I paid for without any legal reason and lied about the ID. That is theft.