This article was published on October 3, 2016

Uber is giving away up to $600 in free food, and that’s becoming a problem


Uber is giving away up to $600 in free food, and that’s becoming a problem

Uber’s food delivery app UberEATS is continually launching in new countries, but it’s recently been troubled by people trying to game the system.

In essence, Uber’s offering isn’t much different than for example Deliveroo or Foodora. All of these apps let you order food from a local restaurant, and bring it to your door.

The main difference is in the way UberEATS works — you can start a support ticket for every order, and easily ask for your money back.

In London, where the delivery app launched a month ago, a few smart users have been taking advantage of this. It’s a simple trick: You order something inexpensive, like a bottle of Coke, and then you complain about the delivery or the quality of the product. Someone from the company will then quickly be in touch and gladly give you a coupon code worth up to $30 for the hassle.

There are reports of users gaming the system to the tune of up to $600. That, combined with the promotional offer of $10 per referred user, often add up to a significant chunk of change.

Business Insider reports of one user getting blocked after using promotional codes, but it’s still unclear how the company plans to fix this problem on a larger scale.

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