Woman goes viral after rescuing her Deliveroo biker

A woman waiting for her Nando’s takeaway order to arrive ended up going viral after she went the extra mile to "rescue" the Deliveroo rider whose bicycle tyre had punctured mid-delivery.

Millie Scriven, 24, from Sevenoaks, Kent, who works in recruitment and owns a business, posted a TikTok video yesterday of herself phoning up about her order, which was 40 minutes late, only to be told it would be further delayed due to a flat tyre. Scriven told Yahoo News she was waiting for the food with two friends and was having a girl's night in.

Her response was to immediately drive out to where the Deliveroo rider had stopped and help the man fix his bike. The video has amassed 1.3 million views so far on TikTok, along with 146k likes.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “It is heartwarming to see Deliveroo customers and the local community help out a rider with a flat tyre. We have asked these local heroes to get in touch with us so we can say thank you.”

The footage shows TikTok influencer Scriven speaking to someone who was helping, Saifallah, the delivery driver. A man called Jake, who was helping him answered his phone and said: “I’m not your Deliveroo driver, I’ve got the gentleman who’s delivering it to you now he doesn’t speak very well English. He’s got a flat tyre on his bike. He’s trying to get ahold of the support, but they’re not answering.”

Scriven then asked if she could come to the Deliveroo worker’s location and collect the order herself. "I said 'he’s broken down. Come on girls we’re going on a road trip'."

Scriven drove to Maidstone station, where she found a small crowd around the driver. Scriven then surprised Saifallah with an electric tyre pump she brought from home. The unidentified man thanked her, and another bystander helped pump up the flat tyre.

Shortly afterwards, she got her long-awaited Nandos order.

People on TikTok were moved by Scriven and the other strangers who helped the Deliveroo driver. One commented: “So nice to see that you’ve helped instead of kicking off! As so many would have done! Good for you!! Kindness goes a long way.” Another person wrote: “Those boys mummas raised them right what amazing guys.”

Another joked: “Warm heart, cold Nandos.”

Their time with Saifallah wasn't over after this, Scriven said: "Once we pumped up his tyre, he had to ride the bike to our house as his app wouldn’t say he had completed the trip without him being at the front door. We did offer to put the bike in the back and give him a lift, but it wouldn’t fit in the car."

She ended up claiming back the express delivery fee they paid as they collected the order and were given £14 off their total.

Which takeaway food delivery service is cheapest in the UK?

In the UK, the most popular online food delivery companies are Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat. Ordering from an app is convenient, though there can be a hefty charge, as food on delivery apps tend to cost considerably more compared to visiting a restaurant or shop in person.

Every platform has its own going rate for service fees that go to the companies and the delivery workers. When using them, each restaurant can have different delivery costs depending on the distance from the location where you ordered your food. But there is a way to save a bit of money.

You can sign up for one of their membership plans to avoid paying delivery fees. The options are either Deliveroo Plus Silver, which costs £3.49 monthly for free deliveries (£15 minimum each), or Deliveroo Plus Gold, which is £7.99 (with a £10 minimum order). If you’re a student or have Amazon Prime, you can get Deliveroo Plus Silver for free. Uber Eats has Uber One, which costs £59.99 a year or £5.99 a month. Just Eat, on the other hand, does not have a monthly plan that covers delivery fees. Instead, there is a 10% service charge that is capped at £1.99, and delivery costs vary. Some restaurants waive this charge if you reach their minimum spend.

They all charge a “small order” fee when your total isn’t high enough. Uber says those charges are set by the restaurants themselves.

Which? conducted an investigation into the disparity of the cost of supermarket food orders on delivery platforms. In an experiment, the largest discrepancy their research found was from a Morrisons order. They found that buying the food directly from Morrisons was £41.99, and when ordering from Just Eat, it was £54.39. That is a whopping difference of 38%. Uber Eats came second and charged 32% more for the Iceland order, and Deliveroo charged the least in this experiment, 28% more for a Sainsbury’s order.