Uber Eats Drivers *****ing Food & Customer Service Ignoring Complaints

I have experienced three separate incidents where Uber Eats drivers falsely mark orders as "arrived" and "delivered"—without ever attempting to hand over the food.

My most recent order was for R290, with an estimated delivery time of 45 minutes, which was not met. Instead:

The driver marked the order as "arrived" while still in transit, triggering the 8-minute timer unfairly.

Just 2 minutes before the timer lapsed, they sent a message claiming to be at the location—giving me no real opportunity to respond.

The driver then marked the order as "delivered" and left with the food after taking a photo of the wrong address to falsely justify their claim.

When I reported this to Uber Eats customer service, my refund was denied. They blamed me instead of investigating the driver’s misconduct.

Uber Eats states that drivers must make "reasonable attempts to contact" customers before leaving. However, in my case:

The driver never called.

The only message came 30 minutes after the order was already late and just 2 minutes before the timer expired.

No real attempt was made to verify my address before marking the order as "delivered."

This is not just poor service; it is a pattern of drivers abusing the system to take food without consequences.

I request the following from Uber Eats:

1. A full refund for my undelivered order. 2. A clear explanation of what Uber Eats considers "reasonable contact attempts" and why drivers are allowed to exploit this loophole. 3. A better process for handling *****ulent deliveries, rather than issuing automated refund denials. 4. Action against drivers who repeatedly engage in this behavior.

If Uber Eats cannot guarantee that customers receive the food they pay for, then the service is unreliable. This issue needs to be addressed immediately.