Nottinghamshire Deliveroo driver refusing orders due to 'fears for his safety' when delivering alcohol

A Nottinghamshire courier says he is fearing for his safety after repeatedly receiving verbal abuse from customers. Rolston Williams, who works as a Deliveroo driver, has received abuse after asking customers to provide a physical ID before handing them alcohol.

This is per the company's Challenge 100 policy, which means that Deliveroo riders must check customer IDs for proof of age every time they make an alcohol delivery, despite how old they look. Mr Williams, 58 and from West Bridgford, says this is 'unreasonable' and upsets a lot of customers, leading to riders being abused.

Mr Williams said: "I follow the guidelines every time and people always tell me ‘obviously I don’t look underage’ but I just have to follow the guidelines because I could lose my job otherwise." He added that he thinks customers should be allowed to receive their deliveries upon providing a picture of their IDs in case they don't have the physical document with them.

Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp

Mr Williams said: "I had to refuse deliveries several times because the customers had a picture on their phone but not the actual ID and that also irritates them and then I get abused. There was one time when I got an order for alcohol to an address and the wife didn’t have her ID so I couldn’t hand her the order.

"Then I received another order at the same address and the husband only had his ID on his phone. I told him I wouldn’t be able to accept that but he got very annoyed at me and said ‘you’re not leaving until you give me the items’.

"I get this response from many customers. I think a picture of the ID is a reasonable option because there are many factors to take into consideration such as if someone sent their ID away to get a new passport."

The courier said he has been complaining about the issue for months but has received "no response". "People just stand there having paid for everything and we just tell them we can’t give them their items so they get upset.

"People can get violent and there needs to be something done to prevent this," added Mr Williams. He also recalled delivering alcohol to the same address multiple times, each time having to ask for the customer's ID.

He said: "The chap got annoyed at me because I had to ID him every single time. Now, whenever I see an order from him popping up, I refuse it because I fear for my safety. I always follow the rules because you could get a mystery shopper and I don’t want to lose my job."

Mystery shoppers are part of Deliveroo's regular audits that test the company's processes are working well. Deliveroo told Nottinghamshire Live it is now investigating the matter regarding Mr Williams.

A spokesperson said: "The safety of our riders is our top priority and any abuse against riders doing their job is completely unacceptable. Deliveroo has strict guidelines in place for delivering age-restricted items, which include verifying the customer's age with a physical ID.

"This policy is essential to comply with legal requirements and to ensure that such items are delivered responsibly. We are investigating this matter."

The company added that it has a dedicated rider team to assist couriers, who also have access to a mobile security app called Flare that helps protect riders when they are working, allowing them to flag for emergency support and report road risks. Flare also detects possible incidents and alerts both emergency contact and Deliveroo’s Rider Support if someone is unresponsive.