Pune student demands OTP-based delivery after Zomato order goes missing. Netizens support idea

A Pune-based engineering student has called for OTP‑based verification for food deliveries after her Zomato order went missing — a post that has since gone viral on X, crossing more than seven lakh views and prompting several users to share similar experiences with Zomato and other quick-delivery apps such as Blinkit and Swiggy. Many of them supported the student's idea to use OTPs to verify customers before orders are delivered.

Rushikesh Sapkal took to X on Monday and shared that she had placed a Zomato order late on Sunday. The delivery was delayed by almost 30 minutes, which she already found suspicious. But when she went downstairs to collect it, she received a notification saying “Order delivered” — even though no one had called her or handed over the package.

‘No call, no message — just marked as delivered’

In her post, Sapkal said she tried calling the delivery partner, but he did not receive her calls. She then contacted Zomato support, which arranged a conference call between her, the delivery partner, and customer care.

The delivery partner claimed that he had given the parcel to “a boy standing in the colony” who allegedly recited the order ID — and that he assumed it was meant for her. But as the student pointed out, order IDs are printed on most delivery bags, raising questions about how an order could be handed over without any identity confirmation.

Screenshots shared by Sapkal show her explaining to customer support that the order had not been delivered, and support staff telling her they would contact the delivery partner for clarification.

Zomato eventually refunded the amount, but not without adding a warning that “this is the first and last time,” which the student called “unfair” — especially since she had no role in the mishap.

‘This could have been avoided with an OTP’

Reacting to Zomato's response, Sapkal said, “How is this my fault? And what if it happens again? Will I not get a refund then?” She added that incidents like this could be easily prevented if Zomato required OTP verification before delivery. "Anyway, I’ve deleted the Zomato app. Not ordering food online anymore. They wasted my time, and I ended up with nothing to eat in the middle of the night."

Other users report similar experiences across apps

Sapkal post triggered a flood of responses from users who reported near‑identical issues.

One user recounted a Blinkit incident where items meant for a house party were marked as delivered even though the order had been given to someone standing outside the wrong house. The delivery partner later returned, apologised, and took responsibility. "Thankfully, we got our items back. But the bigger question remains: how can an order be delivered without proper verification? Anyone standing nearby can simply accept the order," the user commented.

Another X user shared a more frustrating experience with Swiggy. They placed an order that was delayed and eventually cancelled after the delivery partner claimed to have met with an accident. Swiggy re‑ordered the items, but the second delivery partner also reported an accident. Because it was a repeat order, Swiggy allegedly told the user that no refund could be issued, leaving them “with no food, money lost, and a waste of two hours.”

A third user described tracking their Zomato delivery partner moving farther and farther away from their location until the order vanished — the rider reportedly traveled 25 km away before disappearing entirely.