Takeaway customers are being put at risk by crime gangs who rent out courier accounts to beat safety checks.
Hundreds of drivers in Scotland for big firms such as Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats are believed to be operating in the names of other people. The scam allows dangerous offenders to work with the public unfettered and also leads to exploitation of other workers, who are open to being used as slave labour after being trafficked to Scotland.
Some desperate workers are having to clear the app “rent” before they earn a penny. Other workers are retaining their accounts after moving on to other jobs – and using the rental cash to supplement their earnings.
A Daily Record investigation has found accounts being brazenly offered on Facebook for rent. Couriers have also told us some workers from eastern Europe have been given rented accounts tied to bed and board – leaving them pennies for themselves at the end of a week.
Our reporter was offered a Just Eat cycle account for the Clydebank area for £70 a week. And we have discovered many more accounts being rented out, some by skint immigrant workers and some offered in batches by shady traders.
One whistleblower told us Facebook groups like Glasgow Worker Union freely allow accounts to be offered on a weekly basis for £50 to £80. The whistleblower said: “I’m aware of at least one convicted child groomer and one man with a rape conviction using accounts as no checks are carried out.
“The scam is often run by eastern European and Asian gangs and they often pay students or people just arriving in Scotland to sign up for accounts, then they take them over. The only people taking up these offers will be people who cannot get a primary account themselves.
“It can involve people arriving in Scotland and getting set up in unfit accommodation, with a crook taking out room rent and account rent from whatever is earned. They can make more than the courier, which is well into modern slavery terrain.
“Alarmingly, it includes people who know their violent backgrounds would prevent them from getting an account.”
The source added: “Lots of people send food to their elderly relatives but would you want a thief, a murderer, a rapist taking a pizza to your mother or your grandmother or your daughter? The big companies know the practice is rife and they should do more to clamp down on it. They could easily introduce code into their apps that require fingerprint or facial recognition to authorise every delivery.”
The source said another nasty spin-off is that drivers working on other people’s accounts have no insurance. He said: “If a rogue courier causes a road smash we will soon see this turn into a major issue when no insurance is paid out.”
Another abuse wrecking the chance for courier drivers to operate on a fair playing field is the use of apps like shift grabber, which puts cheating drivers to the front of the queue for work.
Another source said: “They can end up with four orders at once, meaning they earn a lot of money but the food can arrive cold. On one hand the courier firms would love to stop these abuses but they also want to keep market share.”
In Scotland couriers are required to undergo a basic disclosure, which checks their criminal record, which they must declare before working with the public. It also checks their right to work in the UK. Glasgow MSP Anne McLaughlin has championed the rights of couriers.
When told of the Record’s latest revelations, she said: “I am utterly gobsmacked, particularly when these companies can easily stop it simply by using fingerprint or facial technology. I don’t know who to be more worried about – my constituents who now cannot be sure that the person at their door has passed basic background checks or the workers themselves who could be completely exploited.
“The UK Government has to crack down on this and they have to do it now before it gets out of control.”
All three of the big couriers told the Record they allow “substitute” workers. But they place responsibility for carrying out background checks on the account holders – which is highly unlikely to ever happen.
A Just Eat spokesperson said: “Self-employed couriers have the unfettered right to substitute and are required to ensure this is done responsibly. This includes carrying out criminal checks, having the right to work in the UK and all couriers must be over the age of 18.
“If we find that our expectations are not met, we will investigate and take action as needed, this can include immediately deactivating the courier."
A Deliveroo spokesperson said it is rolling out new identity verification technology to strengthen its systems. They said: “Should a rider subcontract to an individual without right-to-work status or with an unspent criminal record, Deliveroo would end their contract immediately.
“Likewise Deliveroo would fully investigate an issue if any concerns were to arise. These obligations are clearly and consistently communicated to all riders.”
They added: “Riders’ use of substitutes has been reviewed by courts and upheld as a legitimate right of the self-employed workforce.”
The firm said it now uses facial recognition, requiring riders to take a selfie once every 14 days. But drivers have told the Record this is very easy to get around.
An Uber Eats spokesperson said: “If we are made aware of any breaches to our requirements, we take immediate steps to deactivate a courier’s account and make referrals to law enforcement where appropriate.”
The firm said it has a Public Safety Response Portal that police can access 24/7.
