Texas Couple Scammed Out of $1400 by Grocery Shopper
Daryl and Heather Felsberg The original order was about $225. In the end, the shopper spent around $630.
A PRICEY CONVENIENCE
Using personal shoppers has become the new normal. No matter where you get your groceries, there is likely an option to have someone shop for you. However, with convenience comes a price.
Daryl and Heather Felsberg, a north Texas couple, began using Instacart years ago. "We started Instacarting during the pandemic," Daryl said. "It was easy. And after that, it seemed convenient."
GROCERIES TURN INTO A CATASTROPHE
The couple regularly orders from their local Kroger in Paris, Texas. However, the couple placed a $225 order that turned into a catastrophe. They started to notice a red flag when they received a notification that their shopper Jada S. would be late.
Not just a little late, but late LATE. "She's already checked out, and our groceries were supposed to be there. But now, they will be there the next morning," Heather said. However, the next morning the groceries never showed up.
The Gelsbergs received a notification from Instacart letting them know there was a problem. "I thought she got into a car accident on the way to our home or something along those lines," Heather said. "I never heard anything again."
DRAINED THEIR BANK ACCOUNT
However, that wasn't the end of it. Although the delivery had been canceled, the account was still charged. Aside from the initial $225 worth of items they had ordered, there were an extra 140 items and $425 added on.
The family was shocked when they noticed the $630 charge to their account. On top of the fraudulent charge, there was also a hold placed on their account, "So at one point, it was $1400 that we tied up," Felsberg said.
A REPEAT SCAMMER
The couple contacted Instacart and eventually got the issue resolved and their money back but they also found out their shopper was a repeat offender. Daryl posted about the situation on social media and soon, other victims began to come forward, claiming Jada S. had also scammed them.
Instacart confirmed they removed Jada S from their platform.