How to unblock a restricted Uber EATS delivery Rider account

How to unblock a restricted Uber EATS delivery Rider account

Wednesday, 3 April 2019

I got a text message from Uber telling me that I registered with Uber EATS to deliver by bicycle only and their system had detected that I was in fact using a motor bike (lol imagine me driving one of those) I must go back to using a bicycle or risk loosing my account. 

A few weeks later I got another message from Uber basically saying this hasn't been resolved so they proceeded to immediately cut my account off. I was devastated. Not only had I never use a motorised vehicle (I am far too much of a baby to break the rules) but now I had no way to make extra money, nothing to do when I was bored and no potential cancelled orders for me to eat (sad times for me, the amount of people that cancel their orders around here is crazy.)

Having done some research online I read that it was almost impossible to get your account back after Uber had decided that you've broken the rules; but I managed it, most likely because I hadn't broken the rules to start with - although Uber were adamant that I had, it was a very long and hard process to regain access to my account, but a week later, my account had finally been reinstated. 

In a desperate bid to get it sorted I went online looking for advice or other peoples stories but it was all negative and made me feel worse so I've decided throw a blog post together to tell you how I got my account back and let you know that it is possible assuming that like me, you haven't actually done anything wrong.

Be Persistent

In my opinion this is the most important thing because the same thing happened to two of my friends the week before and my account was still fixed before there's. I did everything in my power to get my account fixed as soon as possible. I called them up and demanded to speak to a supervisor every. single. day and that took at least half an hour each time. I went to the Greenlight hub and I constantly messaged them through the app until the moment it was sorted.

Ask For A Supervisor

Leading on from this point, it seemed to me that the normal help line staff actually do believe that once you're account is restricted, it's not possible to change it back. I had one after another tell me there is no possible way to fix it; they were all quite obviously wrong. I could tell a few of them thought I was delusional when I mentioned that I had been told otherwise. As soon as I was passed on to a supervisor however, it was a different story. They explained how it worked and had it escalated for me.

Go To The Greenlight Hub 

Although I actually don't think this really helped my case, it did show that I was actively pursuing the issue. I went to the hub, spoke to someone there and was told the same thing - but I had them escalate again. To my knowledge, this was done maybe 5 times although I don't know how many were truly escalated because I only got escalation message a couple of hours before it was finally reactivated so just keep pushing.

Provide Proof 

Half way through the process, they asked me to send in photos of my bike and its reference number to "provide proof" so of course I did that the second they asked but I decided that if they wanted proof, I was going to give them as much proof as I had. I sent them photos I posted on social media of me and my bike with my Uber bag and also blog posts I wrote in the past, about how much I loved doing Uber EATS on my bike. 

Keep Calm & Professional 

At times I did feel like it wasn't going to happen and I really was heartbroken about it. I felt like I was being a pain and they were going to block my number altogether in the end because I was literally going on and on and on every day.

As frustrating as it was being put on hold for 15 minute at a time to then be told that they are not going to fix my account, it was important to stay calm and not get angry at anyone. 

I had to remember, I had done nothing wrong. They had unfairly dismissed me and I deserved my account back so I kept going until it was fixed. I was on first name terms with my local supervisor by the end and he apologised profusely on our last call. 

In the end, it took 6 days (over 2 weeks for my friends who I mentioned earlier); that's almost a whole week without any money coming in (probably around about $150 for me, which is what I pay for a weeks rent - very annoying) and a whole lot of stress but I was so happy when it was fixed that I didn't care - I went back on the road as soon as I found out.

If you have not done anything wrong do not lose hope!

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MINIMAL GUIDE: What to pack for a working holiday in Australia

MINIMAL GUIDE: What to pack for a working holiday in Australia

Wednesday, 20 March 2019

This infographic from Viessmann points out, that a return flight from London to Hong Kong uses 3.4 tonnes of C02 and that's a pretty big contribution to anyone's carbon footprint, let alone someone who likes to spend as much time in Asia as I do. With its hole in the Ozone and huge parts of the great barrier reef dying, Australia, where I'm heading to this time, knows more than most places, the effects of  high C02 levels and global warming. There are loads of ways for us to cut our C02 levels, be it replacing an old boiler, or in my case, trying to reduce my number of flights.

With so many places that I want to see, I'd be flying forward and backwards all the time if I did them separately but doing an extended trip, with just two long haul flights at either end (and then mostly land travel in between) is great because I still get to see lots of different places but I leave make less of an impact on the planet!

One of the problems I do encounter with a longer trip though is what and how much, to pack! My latest adventure, back to Oz will be the third time that I've had to pack a carry on suitcase for an extended trip and out of the three it was the hardest.

The first time I had no idea I was doing, I definitely didn't pack enough but that was fine because I didn't care what I looked like when I was backpacking, it was hot and I was either drunk or hungover most of the time; plus it was my first trip and I was excited to buy the singlets and elephant pants.

The second time, was three weeks after I got home from my first trip and I was so desperate to get back to the Thai sunshine, that I didn't even unpack; just pulled out the things that I didn't use and left with less that 6kgs of stuff.

This time I'm going straight to Oz and having spent 6 months there already, I have a little bit more of an idea of what I want to take back with me. Hopefully it'll be useful knowledge for anyone struggling with what to pack for their own trip!

I know it's very hot there, I know I want to work in office and I know I'll probably be quite active to; so I've decided to split my packing into 4 different options, day, night, work and gym. More basically, I'll need smart(ish) & casual.


Tops

For the day, I want tops that work for the gym and for the sunshine - both mean I'm going to get quite hot so I'm looking at light, floaty materials and cropped shapes. I'm also taking some cute cami's that will work for both the day and night depending what I pair them with. It's important to pack things that are versatile. It's kinda like a 6 month capsule wardrobe.

          - 6 t-shirts and strappy cami's - 4 day/gym and 2 night/work
          - 3 sports bras - which I wear as tops to the gym
          - 3 cropped jumpers - I only want to take 2 but I can't pick
          - 1 long cardigan - works as kaftan, covers shoulders at work, got worn loads last time
          - 2 bralet tops - clubs or bars and are great for lazing around the house as well
          - 2 oversized t-shirts - when I cant be bothered to get dressed.

 Bottoms

I'm taking mostly shorts because that's what I wore most last time with my active lifestyle in Oz. These don't really work very well for smart occassions so I'm taking a black skirt as officewear too.

          - 4 gym shorts - great for lazing around/food shopping/ will probs wear these most
          - 2 fashion shorts - going out
          - 2 leggings - mostly for going out at night (food shopping, McDonalds lol etc)
          - 1 black bodycon skirt - for work but will probably get used quite alot
          - 1 cycle shorts - in case I fancy doing some more Uber.
          - 1 tracksuit bottoms - to travel in

Dresses

This is something I really missed wearing on my last trip since I only took 2 to Thailand. I often found myself wishing I had brought more because they look like I've put a bit more effort in and they are just so easy to throw on. 

          - 3 light, floaty dresses that work for day, night and casual office work.
          - 1 heavy, denim, strappy dress that I  bought in Thailand and just cant go without

Shoes

Last time I left the UK with a pair of trainers and a pair of flip flops. I came back a year later with six pairs of shoes so I need to be prepared this time.

          - Converse x 3 (I couldn't choose ok, this is excessive for me)
          - Air Max
          - Black Pumps
          - Flip-flops

 Other Bits

        

          - 2 Bikini's - never to the beach, only to the apartment pool
          - Sunglasses - my awesome new Ray-Bans from Smartbuy Sunglasses *GIFTED
          - Underwear - one weeks worth works for me
          -  Minimal mini toiletries - just so I can brush my teeth & shower when I get there.
          -  Perfume - 30ml so I can take it if I go anywhere on a budget
          - Backpack - mostly for the plane - snacks, laptop, passport.
          - Handbag - I'm taking a black cross body and a mini backpack for the gym or days out
          - Rain coat - it rains alot in Queensland.

For me, this is overpacking and I would never have packed this much for my Asia trips - I literally went there for 3 t-shirts, but I feel like I can take a bit more if I'm looking to settle in one place for longer. Although the weight is a bit more, with the help of my packing cubes, it all literally takes up exactly the same amount of space so why not?! They do an amazing job of getting everything compressed and into your suitcase neatly. I got mine on Ebay for £5 and I wouldn't travel without them now. 

From this:

to this:

 I hope this has been useful if any of you are off to Oz!

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Brisbane on a budget

Brisbane on a budget

Monday, 11 March 2019

Two weeks ago, I took a 29 hour journey from London to Brisbane and spent the week there solo, before meeting up with Jonny after our month apart.

Brisbane was the cheapest place in Australia to fly in to which worked for me as that was exactly where I wanted to go. I flew from from Heathrow, via Manila with Philippines airlines and I can 100% recommend them. The food, service and selection of films were all really good plus I liked that you get a little amenity pouch even in economy. My favourite thing however, was that the first 14 hour leg of my journey only had 99 people on board so we got a whole row each and I slept for a solid 10 hours.

That being said, I had some of the worse jet-lag of my life so ended up spending quite a lot of that week in bed, although, as it slowly started to subside, I was been able to get out and explore the city a little bit more. Apart from accommodation, I've spent less than $70 so in this post, I wanted to share some of the ways I've kept spending to a minimum.

Flatshare 

First things first, accommodation. Hostels in Oz are much more expensive than in Asia, you're looking at $25-$30 per night and for the same price, you could rent a room in an apartment for a week. I searched Facebook for groups like Brisbane flatmates hub and sorted it all out before I arrived. It meant I had my own air conditioned, en suite room and a kitchen, complete with beautiful engineered wood flooring to cook my own food in, just a 20 minute walk into the city centre.

There were 4 other people living in the apartment from all over the world and we spent a could of nights drinking out on the balcony which was really nice. 

Another great thing about being in an apartment block was that it also gave me access to a private pool and a little gym which I took full advantage of! 

City Hopper Cruise

The city hopper ferry is a free service that runs along the river and stops in the main parts of town. Not only is it great, free public transport but for a tourist, it's a super fun, cheap way to see the city. With an open top to sit at so I ran up there as soon as I got on.

City Markets

I accidentally stumbled across different markets almost every day. There was a cute craft one that runs over the weekend on the South bank which had a really lovely atmosphere, it was lined with bars and restaurants and everyone was outside in the sunshine enjoying themselves.

Then there was the food market just by North Quay ferry terminal which seems to be where they have different markets every day. The 2nd I spotted on my way back from the ferry terminal - I walked past to see hundreds of students and backpacker types set up on the floor with clothes literally everywhere. After a little bit of research, I learned that it was the suitcase rummage sale which is held on the first and third Sunday of each month. Most pieces were going for $5 each (£2.50) and I very nearly bought myself a pair of Gymshark leggings for $3 but I'm trying to travel light so I resisted.

South Bank

This is one of Brisbane's most famous areas and really is worth a visit. The coolest part was definitely Streets Beach - a man made beach in the middle of the city and it's pretty unique, I've never seen anything like it. There is also where you'll find the Brisbane wheel, a whole load of bars and restaurants and also a load of free events. 

Something else I thought was really pretty was a big steel structure that ran along the walkway down to the beach. It's called The Arbour and was covered in beautiful pink flowers, it was like something out of Alice in wonderland. 

Supermarkets 

This one has saved me a lot of money although I don't know if I would have necessarily stuck to supermarkets as much as I did, had I not been too jet lagged to enjoy food properly. Apart from a smoothie bowl and a cheeky Maccas (or two), I ate every meal from the supermarket and that was the only money I actually spent.

*Sponsored Content

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WORKING HOLIDAY: How I'm making money in Australia

WORKING HOLIDAY: How I'm making money in Australia

Tuesday, 4 December 2018

Whilst my last few weeks have been very relaxing (if you follow me on twitter, you'll have seen that I gave up working so I could spend my time having fun and persuing the best smoothie bowls in the area lol), I spent my first few months in Surfers Paradise working pretty hard. At first, it was a struggle but after a while, I had the perfect amount of hours at each place; I was working at odd hours of the day but I liked it and it kept my week exciting.

For anyone considering a less typical working holiday in Oz, at the beach rather than one of the big cities, heres what I've been up to!

The Beach Hut

When I decided that I was going to go and work in Australia for a year, I envisioned myself at a cute little vegan cafe on the beach and this job is the closest I got to that. I worked two or three shifts a week at a stand selling fresh cinnamon donuts, hot dogs and snow cones right on the edge of the beach. The job itseslf was pretty fun, they paid me cash at the end of each shift and I got to eat and drink whatever I wanted whilst I was there.

4 - 15 hours

SEO Content Writing

I couldn't believe it when I found myself a job here in SEO. Surfers Paradise is a holiday destination so I just resided to the fact that I wasnt going to find a 'proper' job whilst I was travelling but low and behold, I spent a few monnths writing about stag do's and hen parties, on a mac, in a real office.

5-10 hours

Freelance Writing

I wrote about 20 pieces of content each week for a company in London and it was honestly the dream travel job. I used to do most of it when I was at home alone in the evenings; but if I fancied, it was super easy to take the laptop to a cafe and spend the afternoon there. I got paid in pounds for this one which was great because that goes twice as far in Oz

15 hours

Blogging

If we look at money made per piece, blogging is my biggest income but it is definitely not my most steady so as usual, any blogging money is a nice extra, the same way it was when I was at home. Usually this is through sponsored posts on this blog!

Various

Uber Eats

Uber is such an enjoyable job, I'm not sure I'd even call it that. I make between $6-$9 per delivery so it's not the best money but I don't actually look at it as work, it's a hobby that pays. I can spend anywhere from 2-40 hours a week Ubering so income is different every time.

Since Jonny works the night shift at the supermarket, I do most of my deliveries after midnight.
I actually find this the best time to Uber for a few reasons. It's too hot to cycle during the day plus theres usually a 1.2 boost on after midnight. But the best reason for late night deliveries is because that's when drunk people order Uber Eats and if they fall asleep and don't answer their phone, then we get to keep the food! We got over $100 worth of food jut last night!

10-40 hours per week

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what I learnt from working too much

what I learnt from working too much

Monday, 29 October 2018

At one point last month I had 4 physical jobs, as well as my blog; and I had just accepted a new freelance client. Initially I was excited about all the money I would have coming in by the end of the week but pretty quickly, everything started going wrong and I couldn't work out why; and then I realised. I had worked a 60 hour week (mostly on night shifts) and then kept going. I worked 9 days straight before I realised.

After complaining to anyone who would listen, a couple of people asked me why I was working so much and honestly, I had absolutely no idea. Any one of my jobs would have sufficed to pay for my rent, food and anything else I want or need on a weekly basis. Finally it clicked and I had to remind myself, this is my working holiday life not my back home and saving for a house life. I'm here to enjoy myself; I can work myself into the ground when I'm back home if I want to.

So I made a few changes in the past couple of weeks and although I am earning a little bit less, I'm back to enjoying life again! Here's what I learnt from working too much and why I won't be doing it again:

Stress Affects EVERYTHING 

By the end of that week, not only was I in physical pain but I was ill, arguing with Jonny about everything and I couldn't go to the toilet.

Happieness Over Money 

This one was hard because I am prettty money motivated but I've realised that as long as I have enough money, I don't need to make my life hard just so I can have more; and that goes for my saving habbits as well as my earning ones.

I haven't had as much money come in over the past few weeks but I have been much happier! Jonny and I went to Movie World on Tuesday and didn't take any notice of how much it cost. We got an Uber there, bought a pair of bugs bunny ears and ate ice cream for lunch. It was an expensive day but totally worth it. And actually, in the grand scheme of things it wasnt all that expensive - I must have spent $100/50GBP on the whole day.

On the other side of that though, contrary to how I used to live at home, I have also realised that I don't need to spend loads to have fun. Last weekend, Jonny and I got drunk and stayed in. We cooked dinner, cleaned the flat, had a bath and hit the gym with the boys when they got home from work at 3am and honestly; it was everything. 

Imagine having a job that you miss doing after a few days off. I actually love doing Uber but instead, I spent my evenings working somewhere that I hated because it earnt more money. Now, I no longer dread going to work and split my nights between Uber, writing or going to the gym. I still can't bring myelf to take a night off unless Jonny has a night off from work as well.

Ok one more thing, after wearing 7kgs of what I took in my carry on to Thailand back in January for the past 10 months, I got myself some new clothes this week; it always amazes me how happy a new pair of shoes makes me feel.

The Importance of Looking After Your Body

I thought I'd just take a couple of days off and start again on Monday but after 40 hours of cycling, it literally took me weeks before my legs felt normal and I never want to feel like that again. Now, I go to the gym a few times a week just to stretch. 

My first real gym kit! (So now I look like I'm actually supposed to be at the gym and not a bar crawl in Phuket.)

I also started to notice that crap food actually does makes you feel crap. With two foodie jobs and another one that involved me sitting outside Mcdonalds for hours on end (waiting for deliveries), I was eating who knows what at who knows when and I was feeling the effects but like I said, Jonny and I have started batch cooking healthy meals once a week so were getting better slowly. 

I Need Sleep

My mind what just whizzing around with what job where, when and who and even though I was exhausted, getting to sleep was almost impossible. On top of that, we go to bed at around 5am most nights by which time the sun is back and the birds are tweeting outside the window. It's also starting to get really hot here in Australia. I just cant function on broken sleep. 

So first, we got rid of the duvet and have been sleeping with just a bed sheet. I got some ear plugs and an eye mask. Then I started taking some sleeping supplements, Neuro Rest capsules from Utmost Me. They contain magnesium and 5-HTP which is supposed to help the mind relax and you know what, I think it works. That, combined with giving up two of my most stressful jobs have seen me sleeping through the night/morning and waking up feeling much more energised. We've also started to make a consoius effort to keep our room tidy becuase mess just puts us in a bad mood. Now we're just waiting for our furniture delivery so we can start putting everything in its place instead of on the floor.

So now? I have one normal part time office job (which I love; SEO like I did back home!), I do freelance writing from wherever I fancy and I uber all night. I make time to go to the gym, try to eat healthily and sometimes, I manage to go whole days without doing any work. Jonny and I usually get to bed at 3am and listen to Harry Potter on Aubible until we both fall asleep. We go to the cinema and we see our friends and life is simple again!

I just wanted to finish this post by saying sorry for the terrible quality of my blog photos since I left the UK. I left my good camera at home when I left and all I've got now is a phone camera and a boyfriend who doesn't understand the concept of taking blog photos.  

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On Moving to Australia

On Moving to Australia

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Before heading to our new home in the Gold Coast, Jonny and I spent a couple days in Sydney with his brother, dad and two of his uncles. Exploring the city was loads of fun and averaging 18,000 steps per day meant I didn’t feel so guilty about all the junk we ate. Boys; we flew to another country and all they wanted was KFC. Having heard about Australia’s brunch culture however, I was on the hunt from the minute we arrived, and did manage to find an incredible smoothie bowl one afternoon when I went for a wander whilst they were at the pub. 

Our stay in Sydney was short but sweet and soon enough it was time to catch our flight to the Gold Coast. Jonnys best friends, Leon & Seamus (they're twins) have just bought an apartment at a holiday resort and we've moved in with them. Fully furnished (double bed, dining table - it even came with champange chutes so I have some to drink my prosecco out of), en suite, swimming pool and the beach down the road; it's perfect!

They're the first people my age I know that have managed to save up and buy a house for themselves and I think its pretty amazing; such an investment for their future. They even showed us this handy calculator from SunLife that shows how much house prices have risen in recent years, something they're excited about. 

Still, all their talk of mortgages goes right over my head, along with how to use the washing machine so even though I've been thinking about it, I still think I've got a little way to go.

I love waking up to, what I only know as holiday weather every morning and that there is always music playing when they're home. I love eating breakfast on the balcony overlooking the pool. I love that we finally have a real kitchen since we lived without one in Auckland and I love that one of the bathrooms has a huge corner bathtub.

We're within walking distance of a Ben and Jerry’s, Baskin Robin’s, Movenpick, Gelatissimo, Mcdonalds and my new favourite - Royal Copenhagen so thats where most of our money goes nowadays. Seriously, our cash got stolen over the first few days here and we decided to spend the last of it on ice cream. 

Having trialled all of the gyms in the area, I was going more or less 7 days a week for almost a month. I signed up for my first ever membership and promotly stopped going altogether as my Uber Eats application got accepted the next day. I now spend all my spare time cycling.

Talking of which, Jonny bought me the most beautiful mint green bicycle for my birthday! He also took me out for breakfast, ice cream and to a carabaret show where we both got very drunk and then had to cycle along the gold coast highway home.

We had our 6 month anniversary which we celebrated at the arcade. I might have lost at Guitar Hero but I did hit a 1000 ticket jackpot so who won really Bae?  

All three of the boys work the supermarket night shift and one of my two jobs is usually a10pm start so we spend most of our spare time messing around when we all get home at 4am. On top of that, theres uber which we all do very competatively; I worked 68 hours last week. So as you can see, it’s been all go since we got here sixe weeks ago. Sure it's been hard work but I'm loving it so far and am very excited to see what the rest of our time here brings! 

*Collaborative post

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Being an Uber eats bicycle delivery driver

Being an Uber eats bicycle delivery driver

Sunday, 9 September 2018

When I landed, alone in Kuala Lumpur with no idea what I was doing, an Uber driver got me safely to my hostel. When I wanted to see the sky tower in Ho Chi Minh City but didn't have much time an Uber motorbike zipped us through the traffic and when I was hungry on a cold, stormy night in Auckland, an Uber eats driver delivered steamy udon soup through a window, straight to my bed. I never used Uber much when I was at home but since I've been travelling, it's become one of my most important apps.

Whilst my little mint green bike (big up K-Mart) and I aren't quite like the large item courier you see rolling around Vietnam, (honestly, I've seen fridges, TV's and whole families on the back of a bike there,) I've spent the last two weeks delivering brown paper bags of happieness to people all around the Gold Coast. Becoming an Uber delivery driver has completely taken over my life. I cycled for hours in the rain by choice on Tuesday and last night, the four of us turned off the app and cycled home at 4.30am. Me, Jonny and both of our housemates are totally obsessed. 

Making $$ and getting healthy whilst you do it. Here's how I've found the whole thing:

Signing Up

Signing up is a pretty simple process. There are the usual questions; plus they want copies of important documents and such. The only issue I had was how long it took. For me, it took almost 2 weeks just to get approved because the criminal check just took forever; although uber were really good with keeping me updated on progress via text and email. Also, the help centers here in Oz were some of the most efficient and helpful call center staff I've ever come across, they actually fixed my problem every time I called.

The Bag 

If you see someone with this huge bag of their back, you know they are a fellow Uber driver. Theygs cost $35 which automatically comes out of your first payout and Uber are also happy to swap them for free when they get tired. We take ours everywhere with us now and switch the app on an any opportunity; obsessed like I said.

The bag has been mostly good except for when it comes to pizzas; they just don't fit. On a busy Wednesday night, as I opened my bag to get a pizza out, it became apparent that the whole thing had slid out of the side of the box and was sitting on the bottom of my bag, prawns and all.

Using the app 

Probably now my most used app and really simple to use. You can start and stop whenever you like. Just go online and wait for the magical notification noise, it's addictive. When you get a delivery, your phone buzzes and gives you a few seconds to accept; too slow and it goes to someone else. The app then give you an order number and directs you to the resturant. Swipe 'start delivery' and the map routes you straight to the customer. Once the delivery is over, it tells you how much you made on it and adds it to the days total at the top of the screen.

Getting Paid 

Any money you've earn't from the last week goes straight into your account on Monday night and thats that. Simple.

Cancelled Orders

A cancelled order sounds like it could potentially be a bad thing, but trust me it's not. In 6 days of Ubering, I had 2 cancelled deliveries meaning I've finished up with over $60 worth of food to do what I want with and gotten paid for deliveries that I didn't have to make.

I picked up a Mcdonalds order and by the time I got back to my bike, Uber had already called me to let me know that my order was cancelled. They told me I'd still get paid for the delivery and to dispose of the food however I wanted.  Did I eat it? I wanted to but honestly I was so busy that day that I didn't have time. As soon as I hung up another order came through. 

Having not ridden a bike for years, on my first day out, I spent almost 5 hours cycling and since then, it's all I want to do. I don't have time to go food shopping, Jonny and I take our bags out on date nights and my gym membership has gone straight down the drain.

Yes, it can be pretty exhausting but what other job allows your to add an extra $400 to your income by spending a few hours cycling along the beach. Throw in a bag of snacks, a portable charger (very important) and an awesome Spotify playlist and I'm can go for hours.

Thank you Uber, you've changed my life.

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