While Instacart has allowed customers to get groceries delivered with ease, some users claim that drivers have stolen or altered their orders.
In 2022, a woman on TikTok went viral after claiming that an Instacart shopper tried to add extra items to her order and falsely mark it as delivered. Later in the year, another user alleged that an Instacart driver ran off with her order while she was in the middle of Thanksgiving preparations.
Now, another user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming that an Instacart shopper used her $200 Kroger order as an excuse to shop for themselves.
In a video with over 48,000 views, TikTok user Rachael (@hairandhay) shares her expected 55-item Instacart haul before revealing what she claims the shopper bought and kept instead.
She attempted to buy things like cat food, fresh vegetables, and Pedialyte Freezer Pops, but her Instacart shopper instead bought things like laundry detergent she is allergic to, men’s deodorant, chips, and Dum Dums.
@hairandhay At least they got what’s important. Dum dums 🍭 #instacart #instacartscam #instacarthaul #groceryhaul #greenscreen ♬ Chill Vibes – Tollan Kim
“Then they marked my order as complete and delivered but of course never even came to my house & didn’t provide the photo they’re supposed to,” she explained in a comment.
In response, Rachael says she reached out to Instacart.
“Instacart did tell me that they would be blocked from ever delivering to my house again, and I was like, ‘Shouldn’t they be blocked from delivering to anyone’s house, considering they just stole like 200 something worth of groceries from the grocery store? They’re just going to be able to keep on keepin’ on.”
Rachael claims in another comment that Instacart has initiated a refund, though she had not received it as of Jan. 23—3 days after the video was posted.
She also says she’s still not sure how the entire process will be resolved on Instacart’s side.
“I’m not confident that person will be banned from instacart completely,” she wrote. “Their protocol for this [is] unclear to me.”
Other commenters expressed disbelief that something like this could occur.
“As an Instacart shopper I find this crazy! Makes me sad because people stop using it when there are really good shoppers still out here,” wrote one user.
“As a IC shopper so sorry this happened to you I didn’t even know shoppers could do all that,” added another. “Their support is trash & I hope you get your money back!”
“As a 5 star diamond cart shopper I’m sorry. I don’t even understand how this happens. They need to get rid of these people,” echoed a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Instacart and Rachael via email.
