Protect yourself: Procon records almost 200% increase in complaints of theft by delivery apps
Uber Eats, Rappi and iFood, three of the country's leading food delivery apps, were notified by Procon-SP about the increase in the incidence of scams that end up turning consumers into victims of robbery. Combined, complaints in 2021 have already reached 249 in just over six months, compared to 87 in the whole of last year.
The overall increase of 186% in the incidence of this type of theft has, according to data collected by Procon, Uber Eats as the food app that saw the most growth in scams. From January to June, 64 complaints were registered, compared to 14 in all of 2020, representing an increase of 357%. And the first alert from Procon has already been given at the beginning of the month.
Rappi, in turn, is the preferred victim, having received 105 complaints in 2021 compared to 29 in 2020 (262% more), while iFood received 80 complaints from consumers in these six months compared to 44 last year (81%).
In terms of revenue, the theft from food apps due to scams has already reached almost R$500 in 2021, according to Procon. iFood and Rappi have each stolen R$200, while Uber Eats is said to have taken R$80 illegally.
What is the scam like?
The scam that has been carried out by some food delivery app drivers is mainly based on charging customers undue amounts, who only realize the theft after being notified by the institution with which they made the payment. Reports on how the theft is carried out vary, according to Procon.
The agency reported that some customers say they received a payment machine whose display was broken; others claim to have been informed by the delivery person that they should pay an additional amount (“delivery amount”, “service fee”) and, in some cases, they received a call from the restaurant informing them about a “delivery fee” and asking for their card details.
Fernando Capez, executive director of Procon, promised demand quick responses from those responsible for food apps about theft complaints. And he made an appeal to consumers who feel wronged: “Anyone who is a victim and is charged an incorrect amount should contact Procon-SP. We will investigate the company’s responsibility and contact the police. Delivery companies must answer for the problems and compensate the consumer.”
Prevention tips
The supervisory body listed some tips so that consumers can be vigilant and not increase the statistics of victims of theft from food apps from now on. The main one, according to Capez, is to choose to pay online, within the app itself. “And remember that there is no delivery fee or other additional fee. Any different occurrence must be reported to the company”, warned the director.
In addition, Procon provided other simple guidelines that, if followed, will certainly make it harder for those who have been using food apps to commit robberies against consumers: do not use machines with broken displays or that do not allow data to be viewed, check the purchase amount at the time of payment (if not made online), do not provide data over the phone, be suspicious if the delivery person asks for an extra fee, contact the establishment in case of doubts.
Image: Diy13/iStock
