Imagine how food delivery riders travel a long distance under the heat of the sun and even braving torrential rains and flood just to find out the order was one big scam.
When the coronavirus hit the country, food delivery riders like GrabFood and Food Panda are now busier than ever, with takeaways and food delivery being the new normal we live in. That being said, all hands down, the food delivery service has become the greatest invention mankind has ever created... just until some pranksters and fickle-minded people mess it up.
Even during this Covid pandemic, some individuals are deliberately pranking delivery riders by providing fake addresses, or cancelling their orders at the last minute. As a result, food deliverers are unable to receive payment and end up making wasted trips.
The House of Representatives has come up with a new bill to penalize people who cancel confirmed orders burdening most delivery riders and service providers as a result.
Called House Bill 6958, or the Food and Grocery Delivery Services Act, the proposed law criminalizes the cancellation of transactions from food and grocery delivery service providers when delivery riders have already advanced the payment for the items or the items are already in transit to the customer.
If passed into law, violators will get the penalty of prision mayor or at least six years of jail time. They must also pay a ₱100,000 fine and reimburse the food and delivery service providers for the value of the items advanced by the rider. They should also pay the provider an amount of money double the fee charged for the canceled transaction.
Meanwhile, those who shame, demean, embarrass, or humiliate the delivery riders across any platform may face at least six months of imprisonment or prision correccional.
Exempted from the proposed law are (1) orders already paid for via credit card and despite its cancellation, payment will still be credited to the service provider; (2) the customer remits to the service provider any payment as a pre-condition for the cancellation of order; (3) and the delivery of the items will be or was delayed for at least an hour from the expected time of arrival and such delay was not caused by the driver's negligence.
To further the protection of service providers, HB 6958 shall require food and delivery service providers to make their customers submit a valid proof of identity and residential address or proof of billing; and utilizing video calls for verification of customer identity.
In the end, the proposed law is never intended to undermine customer rights. It's for the rights of the food delivery riders. trying to make the their day a better one by extending kindness and help. After all, the customer isn't always right.
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