I recently received an email from Uber Eats telling me I’d made a £40 takeaway food order and that my PayPal account had been charged. The only problem is … it wasn’t me.
It soon emerged that my Uber account had been hacked and, to make matters worse, the hackers had managed to set up two-step verification using their own mobile number. I was therefore no longer able to access my account, or shut it down.
I’ve disputed the payment with PayPal but it is not certain that I’ll be refunded. I have since discovered a great many other people complaining on Facebook that they, too, were hacked. The customer service I’ve received from Uber has been woeful.
Its security has clearly been breached, but so far they are refusing to take responsibility.
ZN, by email
Having spent a bit of time this week looking into Uber Eats, I’m starting to wonder if anyone’s order actually passes off without a hitch. I’m sure most do, but the online takeaway delivery service appears to be beset with problems, of which allegedly hacked accounts is just one.
Last week a Scottish woman, whose Uber account had also apparently been hacked, was so frustrated that she spent £14 to send a parcel of dog poo to the address to which her hacker had received a £40 KFC delivery.
I went to the company and it now accepts that, in your case, it did not meet its “usual high standards of customer care”. It has also apologised. You have been refunded for the order, which went to an address in west London via PayPal.
You have said you won’t be using the site again. However, I’d strongly advise anyone who does use Uber to set up two-step authorisation on their account. You should also consider changing your password to one you haven’t used on another website.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions
