Foodpanda Riders Claim Orders For Woodlands Unit Were Fake, Customers Urged Not To Abuse System

Foodpanda Riders Cancel Cash Orders After Customer In Woodlands Fails To Show Up

Foodpanda riders make our lives easier by delivering food to our doorstep. Sadly, prank calls and fake orders make it difficult for them to get their end of the deal.

On Friday (6 May), Instagram page @sgfollowsall shared a video of a few Foodpanda riders who arrived at a Woodlands HDB unit to deliver various orders.

Upon arriving, however, they realised that the orders were fake as nobody was there to collect them despite opting to pay cash on delivery.

Unable to do anything else, the riders cancelled their tasks.

Foodpanda riders struggle with fake orders

In the @sgfollowsall post on Friday (6 May), a foodpanda rider shared footage of a recent job gone wrong. The clip showed five other delivery riders gathering at what appears to be a lift landing, checking on the orders they had brought.

All of them had their phones in their hands, likely cross-checking details like the address, customers’ names, and order items.

At various spots on the floor around them lay unopened bags of food, that they had allegedly tried to deliver but in vain.

In a comment, the rider who recorded the original footage recalled that the unit they arrived at was “abandoned” and “no one responded” to them for 10 minutes.

Since all were apparently cash orders and the customer was nowhere to be found, the rider claimed that foodpanda instructed them to cancel the jobs.

Thankfully, the food didn’t go to waste as the riders could keep them in the end.

Netizens sympathise with riders’ struggle

Upon seeing the riders’ predicament, many Instagram users were understandably upset.

One netizen questioned why the customers wasted the riders’ precious time. They were only trying to make a living.

Another netizen, who claimed to be a delivery rider too, quipped that this is the primary reason why they do not like cash orders. They then called for strict action as such incidents have happened “so many times” before.

In response to queries from MS News, foodpanda explained that they are currently investigating the incident. They also assured that they have measures in place to ensure compensation for riders and merchants, as well as reduce the occurrence of prank orders. Here’s their statement in full:

We are aware of the incident and are looking into the matter. Riders and merchants will still be compensated for such instances where the recipient does not accept the order and cash payment is not made.

Increased limitations on Cash On Delivery (COD) orders have been put in place to minimise prank orders. We currently have a blacklisting process whereby an account will be blocked once it is deemed as fraudulent based on our algorithms. When flagged, the customer’s device ID will also be noted and future accounts being created from the same device will also be deleted. We will also continue to introduce stricter measures to ensure that orders placed are not fraudulent.

As such fraudulent orders result in time and food wastage, we appeal to all consumers to use food delivery services and the cash on delivery option responsibly in consideration of food delivery riders and merchants.

Hope such incidents will cease

Despite all they have done to serve the community, it’s heartbreaking to see people still taking advantage of food delivery riders.

We hope that the measures that foodpanda and other delivery platforms have in place will be enough to protect them. If not, hopefully, they’ll step up efforts to curb such incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, customers should also do their part by ordering responsibly.

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from @sgfollowsall on Instagram.