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Moment Uber Eats driver walks off with customer's £40 Chinese takeaway

Watch: Uber Eats driver walks off with customer's £40 Chinese takeaway

An Uber Eats delivery driver has been filmed walking off with a £40 Chinese takeaway after allegedly claiming he'd left it by the customer’s front door.

Hotel owner Jon Cawdron, 42, captured the incident on CCTV at around 6:20pm on Sunday.

In the video, the driver approaches the front door of Jon’s guest house, The Sands Hotel, on Blackpool promenade.

He then takes a picture of the package by the property to confirm that it’s been delivered, but just seconds later, he calmly scoops it up and takes it back to his car.

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The Uber Eats driver takes a picture of the food on the doorstep.  (SWNS)
The Uber Eats driver takes a picture of the food on the doorstep. (SWNS)

When his food didn’t arrive, Jon said he contacted Uber Eats to demand a refund, but they told him the driver’s photo proved he had received it.

And it was only when he produced CCTV evidence of the driver taking the food away that Uber Eats agreed to reimburse him £39.44 for his family dinner.

Jon, who also works as a freelance photographer, said he was particularly concerned other people were falling foul to the trick.

He said: “Obviously, if I hadn’t got the CCTV footage, then I would be stuck, and I wouldn’t have got my money back or anything.

“But what about the other houses that don’t have cameras? I’m more concerned about who else this has been happening to.”

Jon said Lucky House Chinese Restaurant, in Blackpool, told him to contact Uber Eats to let them know he hadn't received his food.

But Uber Eats later informed him that the image of the takeaway next to his door was proof that it had been delivered, and said he therefore could not claim a refund.

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The driver appears to put the food back in the bag before walking off with it.  (SWNS)
The driver appears to put the food back in the bag before walking off. (SWNS)

Jon added: “Uber said I definitely received it because there is a photo showing that I received it, and I wouldn’t be given a refund.”

He then decided to look through his CCTV, believing that a guest at the hotel may have taken the food parcel.

But he was shocked to see that the delivery driver was in fact behind the alleged theft.

He said: “I made an official complaint to Uber Eats about the driver and uploaded the video, and since then, I got lots of messages saying it was happening a lot in Blackpool."

Uber Eats gave Jon a full refund following the incident, but he said he’d like the driver to be sacked.

An Uber Eats spokesperson added: "Couriers working with us are expected to follow strict community guidelines on delivering orders and what has been described is totally unacceptable.

“I can confirm we have refunded Jon in full and are investigating this report."