A viral TikTok posted this month sparked debate about the impact of refund scams on DoorDash, an on-demand delivery platform for food and groceries.
The TikTok posted by user @hawkofhell, which has over 387,000 views, shows a fast-food meal from Sonic Drive-In, implied to have been received for free as a result of scamming DoorDash.
“Doordash man strikes again,” user @hawkofhell captioned the video, “known about the doordash method for 2 years.”
The creator of the video liked one comment which explained the common scam.
“For anybody asking what it is basically you tell them to leave it at the door wait 15 mins and say it was stolen and you get refunded,” the comment read.
Other users commented saying they have used similar tactics to get free meals.
“I just say the food is cold or somethings missing. Work every time,” one TikToker said.
“Say it never came and you’ll get it for free,” a second said.
“Order the food u want, when you get the food, wait 15 minutes and report that u never got it,” a third agreed.
TikToker @hawkofhell posts videos playing NBA 2K, a basketball video game. Weirdly enough, another NBA 2K player faced criticism for bragging about a similar DoorDash scam in September.
NaDeXe, a Twitch streamer with 147,000 followers, enraged live-stream viewers after requesting a false DoorDash refund. He then insulted delivery drivers by saying “not my fault they chose that job,” according to Dexerto.
Few TikTok comments seemed to care about stealing from DoorDash, which reportedly had about $1.3 billion in revenue last year, according to CNBC.
“They’re a multibillion dollar company, one order isn’t gonna put them out of business,” one user commented.
However, the video stirred controversy about how DoorDash drivers are impacted by refund request scams.
DoorDash drivers receive performance scores based on customer ratings they receive for deliveries. Ratings determine a driver’s eligibility for future deliveries, special programs, and incentives, according to DoorDash’s website.
“If you refund something and say it was the dashers fault they could end up losing they job and money,” one user commented.
“Sounds like you dgaf abt messing up somebody livelihood,” another user replied.
“Nah they can loose there job for that one,” a third user said.
One user doubted that drivers’ scores could be impacted by the scam.
“Can they really? Even if it was a stranger who stole it? You can say u live in apts so it’s likely someone who lives there stole it & not the dasher,” one user noted.
Another user said to protect the driver, blame the store for messing up your order.
“Be as cheap as u want but don’t hurt the person getting u ur food. make sure to report it as a merchant related issue,” they commented.
When merchants provide incorrect or missing items, DoorDash removes poor ratings for delivery drivers and does not deduct from their pay, according to its website.
However, merchants are subjected to an order error charge when customers are refunded for missing or incorrect items. The order error charge can range from 50-100% of the item cost, and merchants must go through a process online of disputing the charge to avoid the fee.
Some restaurants have reported being hurt or even shutting down because of the impact of fraudulent refund requests, according to FOX 5.
“Respect in our community is extremely important and we take reports of this behavior seriously. To use our platform, customers agree to our Terms of Service and must not engage in any deceptive or fraudulent conduct,” a DoorDash spokesperson told the Daily Dot.
DoorDash did not provide the Daily Dot with information regarding whether or not drivers are impacted for orders that are reported stolen after they are dropped off.
The Daily Dot reached user @hawkofhell in the comments section of their viral TikTok.
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