Uber Eats: Delivery driver allegedly touched, hugged Rotorua resident, would not leave her home

The woman said she would never use Uber Eats again. Photo / Andrew Warner

A Rotorua resident says she was left "frozen" and fearful for her safety after an Uber Eats driver allegedly hugged her, touched her face and would not leave her home.

Sarah Taylor, 30, said she ordered food on Uber Eats last Friday. A delivery driver showed up and asked her to use her toilet.

She let the driver use the bathroom while she waited by the front door.

"He came out ... and hugged me."

Taylor said he then allegedly asked her for "a tight hug" to which she said no.

"But he came and hugged me anyway and wouldn't let go. And then he was touching my face and he was telling me I was so beautiful."

She told him to leave about 10 times, to which he allegedly responded: "Just let me touch you first and I'll go".

Taylor said she then yelled out to her flatmate who was in his bedroom.

"He came out and scared him off."

Taylor said the incident was "scary" and she did not know what she would have done if her flatmate had not been home.

"I think I was just quite shocked and I was like - is this guy serious and is he going to leave?

"Usually I can fight for myself but because I was so shocked about what was happening, I was kind of a little bit frozen."

Taylor said she reported the incident to police who turned up "pretty quickly".

She also reported it to Uber but said its support team had been, in her view, "really bad" and had been "brushing her off".

"Someone called me the next day but it was just very robotic ... "

Taylor had been refunded for her order on Friday, however, she had been charged twice - for $47 and $14 - under 'Uber Help' which she did not understand what it was for.

"I'll never ever use Uber Eats again."

Taylor's flatmate, Reece Turner, said he was lying in bed when he heard someone arrive.

The 30-year-old said he heard voices and then Taylor repeatedly said: "No you have to leave".

Turner said he got up to help.

"As I grabbed the door, she yelled out my name and I just ran out.

"As soon as he saw me, he s*** his pants really and I ... basically scared him off."

He said the driver "walked very briskly to his car and took off real fast".

In his view, "it gives every other Uber driver that's trying to earn an honest living out there for a bit of money a bad name".

"If Uber's not doing anything about it, the company's lost my trust and I want to raise awareness for everyone else getting things, just to be careful."

An Uber spokesperson said it was aware of the incident and had been in touch with the account holder to provide necessary assistance.

"We have zero tolerance for inappropriate and disrespectful behaviour and our community guidelines expressly prohibit inappropriate conduct to ensure personal space and privacy should be respected at all times.

"Any unwanted contact may result in loss of access to the Uber platform."

The Uber Eats order was refunded the same day it was reported by the account holder.

Any charges on the Uber and Uber Eats accounts could be retrieved in the 'Activity' and 'Orders' sections of the apps.

Uber's Incident Response Team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to any reported incidents or accidents.

The Rotorua Daily Post also asked Uber what actions it was taking with regard to the driver.

A police spokeswoman confirmed a report had been received and an investigation was ongoing.