In the age of 10-minute deliveries and hyper-convenient shopping, consumers expect trust from online platforms. Yet, nothing frustrates a customer more than receiving an expired or unsafe product and getting inadequate support when they try to report it. This very issue has now ignited debate online after a viral Reddit post accused Swiggy of offering a shockingly low compensation of just Rs 3 for an expired item. The incident came to light after a Reddit user shared their experience in a post titled "Got expired product, so asked for replacement and they gave me 3 rupees." Along with the complaint, the user uploaded screenshots of their conversation with Swiggy's AI support system, where they requested a replacement and were asked to share a photo of the expired product.
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According to the screenshots, when the user insisted on a replacement rather than a token refund, the the support agent assigned, Naveen Pandey, responded: "Sorry, but replacement is not available, and you added a free cash of INR 100, that's why you received an INR 3." Adamant on getting a complete replacement, the user mentioned, "Either you send a replacement or I'll go to Twitter and Reddit. Using free cash doesn't mean you can send me an expired product." The agent maintained that a replacement was not possible. Concerned about safety, the user added, "What if my nephew ate it and got some food poisoning, thank God I checked the expiry date before."
The agent responded, "We're sorry to hear about your bad experience. We're usually known for our excellent customer service experience, and we regret that we missed the mark. We'll ensure such instances are minimised. I've noted your concern so that the team can look into it. Meanwhile, please accept my apology on behalf of the team." Take a look at the post here:
Got expired product , so asked for replacement and they gave me 3 rupees.
byu/pine_nipple_ inswiggy
Disclaimer: NDTV does not vouch for the claims in the post by the Reddit user.
Here's how people reacted in the comments section:
A user shared, "Ice creams (small ones) are the last thing which I would order from Zepto/Instamart/Blinkit or any of these services. Have ordered multiple times from all of these services and each time got either expired or defective."
Another mentioned, "On the first try, they (I assume a bot) give an incredibly stupid amount of coupons, but you should always respond with no, and then it bumps up to the actual value of the product."
"Free ki chizen aisi hi hongi (Free items will be like this)," read a comment. In reply, the Swiggy customer claimed, "Bro, it wasn't free, I did pay the surplus amount."
A person shared, "Be careful, extremely careful while buying frozen items from quick commerce. Only things like ice creams and other things can be 'ignored' if there is no power to the freezer, provided it's not expired. But items like frozen meat/foods/etc are very dangerous and can turn to poison if they're not stored properly. Some needs to be stored below 4C and some below 18C."
Another user claimed, "Same issue. I asked for a customer care executive, stayed on line, refused to write a mail till it was escalated to somebody who could sort this out immediately."
NDTV has reached out to Swiggy for a comment, but it hasn't responded yet.
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