Uber washes its hands of driver’s despicable act, stealing from a disabled Melbourne man

A custom armchair built by a disabled man as part of a support program was seemingly stolen by the Uber courier delivering it to his home, leaving him devastated.

For several weeks, Shaun Bedford worked on building a bespoke armchair with a former furniture maker as part of a disability support program encouraging social participation.

The walnut rocker had been carefully and lovingly brought to life – an activity that gave the young man purpose and a sense of achievement.

Mr Bedford sent it off to an upholsterer for its bouclé fabric finishing touches.

Once complete, Mr Bedford booked an Uber courier service to bring the masterpiece back to his home.

And then the driver took off with it.

An uber driver made off with a bespoke armchair carefully crafted by a disabled Melbourne man as part of a support program.

Now, the devastated Melbourne man has been all but abandoned by the tech giant, which has washed its hands of the matter.

Adding insult to injury, it then breached his privacy and offered a paltry sum as compensation.

“It had a sling-style holder with handmade dowels on the sides, front and back, to hold the cushions,” he said proudly.

On the afternoon of April 23, Mr Bedford booked an Uber courier service to collect the chair from an upholsterer in Coburg North and deliver it to his home 17 kilometres away.

The booking was accepted by a female driver named Zohra, and he sent her a message to confirm the dimensions of the item and to advise the upholsterer would help load it into her vehicle.

“Immediately after collecting it, the driver cancelled the job on the Uber platform,” Mr Bedford said.

Shaun built the chair with the help of a retired furniture maker over several weeks.

Given the cost of labour and materials, the chair is worth several thousand dollars.

Confused, he phoned the upholsterer, who confirmed the chair had been safely loaded into the vehicle and taken away by the woman.

Assuming an error on the app, Mr Bedford waited for the delivery driver to arrive with his chair. She never did.

When he contacted Uber, the tech giant reached out to the driver for an explanation.

“She said her car was too full and she left the chair at a charity donation box, but returned later and found it missing,” Mr Bedford said.

On April 26, he filed a report with Victoria Police, who also contacted the driver, whose story had changed by this point.

“The driver told police that Uber told her to dump the item and that she could not remember where she left it.”

Neither version of events was communicated to Mr Bedford at the time. The driver could have securely contacted him via the Uber app, by message or phone call, but didn’t – immediately cancelling the job instead.

Uber has all but washed its hands of responsibility.

An upholsterer had just finished putting the final touches on the lovingly made chair.

Mr Bedford had multiple interactions with Uber that he felt were unsatisfactory and bizarre.

His growing alarm and confusion were about to skyrocket.

On April 28, Uber inexplicably gave the driver Mr Bedford’s private phone number without his consent or knowledge.

“This was done in the middle of an active dispute involving the loss of property. Sharing my number with a stranger — potentially a criminal — is a serious privacy breach, especially considering my disability status.”

The next day, an Uber support officer phoned Mr Bedford but was unable to explain or justify the driver’s behaviour.

There was also no apology for the breach of privacy but an assurance the company would “look further into” why his phone number was shared.

“There has still been no meaningful attempt to locate my stolen chair or hold the driver accountable,” Mr Bedford said.

And shockingly, the Uber represented suggested it would “maybe” be prepared to offer compensation of just $100.

It turns out the fine print in Uber’s terms and conditions prevents courier customers from claiming losses greater than $100.

“If Uber thinks an item over $100 has no protection, they are encouraging free theft of people’s property through their platform,” Mr Bedford believes.

“A vague reimbursement of maybe $100 for an item that cost thousands in labour, materials and services is insulting.”

Adding insult to injury, in one of his interactions with Uber, he was told: “Please rest assured that you were not charged for the cancelled delivery.”

Uber has all but washed its hands of responsibility.

Victoria Police have told Mr Bedford that criminal action is unlikely.

“I wouldn’t say this meets the threshold of being able to arrest and interview the female,” he was told via email by an officer.

“However, as mentioned above civil action can be taken if necessary.”

News.com.au has contacted Victoria Police for comment.

In a statement, Uber said it was investigating the situation but wouldn’t comment on specifics for privacy reasons.

“We’re sorry to hear about this incident and understand the distress it has caused,” a spokesman said.

“Our team has been in contact with the customer and is actively reviewing the matter.”

The spokesperson reiterated that Uber’s courier service does not compensate for items valued at more than $100 – and those items should not be sent via the platform.

Uber would not confirm if the driver has been removed from its platform.

Originally published as Uber washes its hands of driver’s despicable act, stealing from a disabled Melbourne man