Police show up at Carouseller’s home after Lalamove driver allegedly accused him of sending Kpods

A Carousell seller was stunned when police officers turned up at his door to inspect two parcels, after a Lalamove driver allegedly accused him of sending Kpods, or etomidate-laced vapes.

Stomper D said he had booked a Lalamove courier on May 21 to deliver two parcels, worth more than $200 each, to two customers who had purchased items from his Carousell store, where he sells Thai amulets.

The customers had opted for same-day express delivery and D paid for Lalamove’s standard delivery service.

However, the parcels were not delivered within the expected timeframe of one hour, said D.

“After an hour, my customer complained that she had not received her item,” said the Stomper. “When I checked the app, I noticed the driver was idling at a totally different location, nowhere near the first delivery location.”

D said he tried contacting the driver through the app, but the number provided was apparently no longer in use. He then reached out to Lalamove’s customer support team, who purportedly shared a “template” reply advising him to fill up a claim form.

As he was “extremely pissed off”, D sent a few “harsh” messages to the Lalamove driver via the in-app chat function, threatening to lodge a police report and file a complaint if the driver remained unresponsive.

According to D, the driver called him soon after with a different phone number.

Driver agrees to return parcels, but delivers rude shock instead

D said he requested the parcels to be returned as he was dissatisfied with the delay.

“At this point, he was already almost two hours late and I felt that the service I paid for was not fulfilled according to the stipulated timing,” said the Stomper.

He added that he warned the driver that if the parcels were delivered later, the intended recipients might no longer be at the collection points.

Following an argument, the driver allegedly agreed to return the parcels — but that’s not the only thing that D was greeted by at his door.

Police arrive with parcels

D said the driver arrived at his condominium carpark but did not immediately return the parcels.

About 45 minutes later, two police officers showed up at his unit with the parcels instead.

According to the Stomper, the officers asked him to open both packages in front of them following an allegation from the Lalamove driver that they could contain Kpods.

“I asked... under what grounds I had to do it because I had already explained these were parcels for my Carousell customers,” said D.

The Stomper was baffled. He told Stomp that if the driver genuinely suspected the parcels contained illegal items, the driver would have reported the matter immediately instead of carrying the parcels around for more than two hours.

“This is obviously a deliberate attempt to get back at me because he was unhappy that I made him waste his trip returning the parcels,” alleged D.

D said he cooperated fully with the police and opened both packages.

“No contraband or illegal items were found,” he said.

Complaints lodged with Lalamove and police

“Not only did this episode waste my time (and his), it also affected my customers’ experience,” lamented D.

The disgruntled Carousell user subsequently lodged a police report and filed a complaint with Lalamove.

The police confirmed with Stomp that a report was lodged.

In response to a Stomp query, a Lalamove spokesperson said the company is aware of “the reported incident concerning a delivery order placed on May 21”.

“Following the report, we have been in contact with the user and have provided updates on the actions taken from our end, including our attempts to reach the driver,” said the spokesperson on June 9.

“Based on the information available to us and in line with our platform policies, we have taken appropriate action on the driver’s account.”

Lalamove said it takes all feedback and delivery-related concerns seriously, adding: “As the matter has been reported to the police, we will provide the necessary cooperation to the relevant authorities where required.”

Stomper says lack of updates is concerning

However, the Stomper refuted this and said he has not heard from Lalamove or gotten any follow-ups.

“To date, the only email I have received from them is an automated template that they send to anyone who files a complaint,” he told Stomp on June 11.

D found the lack of updates disappointing. He felt that he should have at least been informed about what actions had been taken against the rider.

“Simply accusing someone of delivering prohibited items (Kpods, to be specific), which resulted in the police coming to my house and checking my parcels, is very serious,” he added.

“If that is the case, then any Lalamove rider can just call the police and make false claims that the parcel they are delivering may contain illegal contraband just because they are unhappy with the sender.”

Have something to say? Join in!

Show all comments