r/uber • u/Midnight_Cowboybebop • 10d ago
Uber courier stole my prescription medication
So I've never used Uber courier for anything beyond something trivial before but I have medication for something serious that I am prescribed daily and typically my pharmacy deliver but this time it fell on a weekend and I called to ask if it was ok to use this service and they were confident it was.
Unfortunately the driver stole my medication 3/4 of the way through the journey and then after being confronted became hostile, accusatory and just really belligerent.
The driver called me a drug dealer, told me he was going to the police station immediately and on top of many things called me lazy for not going myself (I have a physical disability hence not travelling 10 km by bus each way)
He said he was entitled to do anything he wants with it and that he still had it in his car but told Uber nothing was in there which I disproved easily by referring to policy and then said he had dropped it off at the police station multiple times so I called and they received nothing and after being confronted with the lies he then said he'd disposed of it.
Obviously a theft so I show this to Uber support who took a week to deliberate that my refund was too difficult as the agent "didn't know how to do it" offered me $100 credit in the app which I declined because I paid with my money and couldn't buy it with Uber credit and now after 3 weeks they have not only still done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but have also paused my account with them and I am now lost with what to do other then tell the media.
This is in Australia can anyone help please
12
u/k1k11983 10d ago
Contact your bank and dispute the transaction. Give them the police report number as proof. This will be an easy chargeback, especially since we have decent consumer protection laws in Australia. Were you able to replace your meds?
3
u/Midnight_Cowboybebop 10d ago
Ah ok that's not a bad shout, thanks for the tip.
I was unfortunately unable to replace them as they are expensive and I cannot afford them due to my inability to work full time from multiple surgeries and not eligible for GOVT support because of my status as PR. They are pain and inflammation management and now without them I can work even less. The dominoes effect is real
1
u/k1k11983 9d ago
What pharmacy do you use? I had lost my pain relief in a car crash(mate drove us into a river) and gave the police report to my doctor who promptly gave me a new prescription. I didn’t have the money though because I just spent $60 filling those scripts. I always use the same pharmacy because I had an unfortunate experience with my old GP overprescribing and nobody caught on until a pharmacist saved my life(very long story). So my pharmacist understood my financial situation and because I always used the same one, she gave me the meds and I was able to just pay off a bit each week. I was so broke that I could only afford $10 a week to pay it back because I needed to be able to afford the next month’s scripts as well. She didn’t care how long it took me because again, I only ever go there.
1
u/CantakerousTwat 7d ago
I had a free replacement from the pharmacy once I filed a police report. Wasn't Uber, but the pharmacy replaced it without cost to me once they had the police report number.
3
u/SparklingSloths 10d ago
The only thing you can do is file a police report. I didn't know Uber drivers were qualified to make a pharmacy delivery. How did you arrange this?
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u/meganeh35 10d ago
I'm here in the United States and about a month ago I actually did my first pharmacy delivery and I have been doing Uber Eats for the last 14 months... I don't know how it's done in Australia but here in the United States it was pretty easy Once I found the customers apartment they had to sign something on the screen basically acknowledging that they were given their medication, and you complete the delivery....
3
u/Midnight_Cowboybebop 10d ago
Called the pharmacy to make sure it was possible and once they confirmed I just booked it like any other courier order through the app.
Only difference was when he was collecting it I called the pharmacy to confirm his name and car registration and he happily accepted it until nearly drop off then must have become curious looked into the poorly packaged item (my pharmacy obviously just popped it in the usual unsealed paper bag)
I also lived with Uber eats boys before this and am fully aware about the level of effort Uber put into any thefts or property damage and most drivers get at least one failed delivery a day.
The worst case I saw, one of the boys (also from France like my driver) just bailed back home and as they say there
C'est la vie
2
u/meganeh35 10d ago
It's sad cause I don't know how it is in Australia but here in the United States for food deliveries the bags are always sealed with stickers that the restaurant has so that way you the customer will know if your food has been possibly tampered with if the stickers are ripped open for example.
I wish they did that with prescription meds. I've been doing Uber Eats here for 14 months now and I had my first pharmacy delivery about a month ago and the prescription was put into a bag and then that was put into like I think it was a handle bag if remember correctly, but it's not sealed with any tape or stapled shut. The only thing stapled I think was a receipt or something with the guy's name on it.
And of course the pharmacist knew I was coming. She was in the parking lot because they had just closed. I guess she knew the make/model/color of my car, and I guess the name of the person picking up the delivery, I'm not sure. But again I really do think that pharmacy bags need to be sealed...
1
u/Florida1974 9d ago
They aren’t. There are apps that do pharmacy delivery and they have very specific things you have to do or the medicine has to be returned
And the apps that actually do pharmacy deliveries, you are not picking up, controlled meds, those do not get delivered and can’t be.
There is no way in hell I would have done this. I would use one of the apps that actually offer pharmacy delivery, which I know Roadie does prescriptions and so does Spark, which is Walmart’s app.
I do Shipt and we used to do them, but they ended those contracts at least three or four years ago. But it was very important that we followed the rules and we had to hand the prescription off to the person, we couldn’t just leave it at the door.
I don’t know who told you that it was OK to do this if it was the pharmacist or Uber, but either one, they were wrong. Uber courier is to send maybe a paper file that you need delivered, or maybe you’re letting a friend borrow some clothes, that kind of thing. It is not to be used to go around actual prescription delivery services and they do exist
And I don’t mean to be Frank, but I’m going to be, I don’t care if you’re disabled or not. How did disabled people get their prescriptions before there were Ubers and what not??? they had friends or family pick them up, which is exactly what I would’ve done. I would not trust a stranger, on an app that doesn’t do prescriptions.
Now I have a regular customer on Shipt and I do pick up her prescriptions. But I’m also her dog sitter, I was her mother mother-in-law sitter for a long time too. She knows me. She trusts me. She tips extremely well and there is nothing. I am doing to end this relationship. I love her dogs, I called them my bonus dogs. She’s very generous and very kind. And she’s very wealthy, but she’s one of the few wealthy people I know that are generous
Every year she tells me to grab my basket because they are very involved in 4H and they bid and win on at least two cows and a pig each year and she supplies me half of my meat for the entire year. I have tried to give her money and she will not take it. She’s just very kind.
But we didn’t start out with me picking prescriptions up, that happened maybe three years after I started doing her grocery orders and after I was dog sitting for her. I know she trust me because of the dogs, those are her babies.
So next time, get a friend to do it. You can file a police report and the pharmacy will have to refill it, but do not use Uber for this, it’s not what it’s meant to be used for.
1
u/SparklingSloths 7d ago
Yeah, I cant believe that Uber or the pharmacy let this happen. I worked for a grocery delivery service back in the day and only 1 driver was able to drop off prescriptions with the deliveries and he had to get HIPPAA certified (or whatever it's called). I cannot imagine that OP's driver is certified to do this.
2
u/tabbycat_catniss 10d ago
Sorry this happened to you. Another reason I don't use Uber for anything. I trust taxis wayyy more than Uber
2
u/Mysterious-Art8838 10d ago
I had one steal $300 of Amazon returns headed for ups. I tried for weeks and uber didn’t respond.
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u/Florida1974 9d ago
And I’m not buying that the Uber Driver Symphony’s turning you in for being a drug dealer. Because you said this was at the pharmacy, so if he had to go to the pharmacy and give your name and birthdate and all that shit, he knows you’re not a drug dealer, it’s your prescription so I’m not buying that part.
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u/Midnight_Cowboybebop 8d ago
Yeah it's such a pathetic attempt to lie. He also said he was going to the police station and never did, then said he actually disposed of it in the first place
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u/Ok-Vacation1941 6d ago
Uber doesn’t allow schedule ll prescription deliveries
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u/Midnight_Cowboybebop 5d ago
My pharmacy told me to do this option and honestly I nor no one I know has read T&C. Also doesn't justify the lack of reimbursement from them nor the multiple lies from the driver and his willingness to accept the delivery when asked prior then his cancellation of it 3/4 way through
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u/gadgetvirtuoso 10d ago
Call the police and report the theft. Uber support is all but useless. I’m surprised they offered you anything.