Here is a previous case by *** (Identity withheld for privacy reason).
... the shopper was deactivated by Instacart for fraudulently requesting "heavy pay bumps" for orders that did not qualify. She positioned it as "the app somehow wasn't working," but there was nothing wrong with the app--the orders that she was assigned did not qualify for heavy pay based on their assigned weight. Shoppers are notified in the app whether an order qualifies for heavy pay before they accept a batch.
The three invalid bumps that led to deactivation:
Bump 1 (Heavy pay) - Did not qualify because the shopper did not hit the heavy item threshold to qualify for heavy pay for both orders, but they requested heavy pay anyways.
Bump 2 (Distance pay) - Did not qualify because in the ticket, they requested a promotional boost in their ticket, not mileage pay. They did not indicate that they drove farther than what was expected.
Bump 3 (heavy pay) - Did not qualify because the shopper didn't hit the heavy item threshold to qualify for heavy pay, but they requested heavy pay anyways.
Shopper received notices of "Fraud/Earnings Abuse" so she was aware that her requests were unauthorized and her shopper account had been flagged for abuse. Nonetheless, she proceeded to request pay bumps on subsequent orders that were not authorized for heavy pay. After her third request, her account was suspended and then deactivated pursuant to Section 5.2(G) of the Independent Contractor Agreement.]]]
Status: resolved, apps had some errors
... the shopper was deactivated by Instacart for fraudulently requesting "heavy pay bumps" for orders that did not qualify. She positioned it as "the app somehow wasn't working," but there was nothing wrong with the app--the orders that she was assigned did not qualify for heavy pay based on their assigned weight. Shoppers are notified in the app whether an order qualifies for heavy pay before they accept a batch.
The three invalid bumps that led to deactivation:
Bump 1 (Heavy pay) - Did not qualify because the shopper did not hit the heavy item threshold to qualify for heavy pay for both orders, but they requested heavy pay anyways.
Bump 2 (Distance pay) - Did not qualify because in the ticket, they requested a promotional boost in their ticket, not mileage pay. They did not indicate that they drove farther than what was expected.
Bump 3 (heavy pay) - Did not qualify because the shopper didn't hit the heavy item threshold to qualify for heavy pay, but they requested heavy pay anyways.
Shopper received notices of "Fraud/Earnings Abuse" so she was aware that her requests were unauthorized and her shopper account had been flagged for abuse. Nonetheless, she proceeded to request pay bumps on subsequent orders that were not authorized for heavy pay. After her third request, her account was suspended and then deactivated pursuant to Section 5.2(G) of the Independent Contractor Agreement.]]]
Status: resolved, apps had some errors
