As the demand for delivery services skyrocketed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's inevitable that cases of order cancellations or bogus customers have increased alongside it. On June 4, Ako Bicol partylist representative Alfredo A. Garbin Jr. filed a new bill that seeks to protect riders in such situations in Congress.
House Bill No. 6958 or the Food and Grocery Delivery Services Protection Act seeks to penalize customers who cancel confirmed orders for food or grocery deliveries when the items have already been paid for by or is in the possession of the rider. Violators will be fined P100,000 and will be imprisoned for six years. They will also be forced to reimburse riders for their expenses, as well as pay the service providers twice the fee of the original transaction. The bill also aims to penalize anyone who shames or humiliate riders on any platform—those who do so may face imprisonment of at least six months.
However, there are a few exemptions stated in the bill: When the customer uses a credit card and the payment shall be credited to the service provider even in the event of a cancellation; when the customer remits to the service provider a pre-condition payment for the cancellation of the order; or when the delivery of items was delayed for at least an hour from the estimated time of arrival and the delay was not caused by negligence of the rider.
The bill also mandates customers to submit a valid proof of identity and address or proof of billing upon registration with any delivery service provider, and video calls must be conducted for identification verification purposes.
House Bill No. 6958 is available on the House of Representatives' website.
this strange new world.