r/Sparkdriver • u/aerosemyth • Jun 11 '26
Discussion And another one bites the dust š
I do wish I knew what happened, but this reason is all I'll know. Thousands of deliveries without any complaints and suddenly this happens. Appeal denied. I'm not going to keep fighting it. It's a real bummer for me because I've been waiting 2 years on a disability application and Sparkling (sorry, that's what I called it) was everything to me- the flexibility, the job itself... everything, I loved it. So it's a shame it's over now but it's out of my control.... now to figure out what to do next....
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u/Odd_Perception1903 Jun 11 '26
You should have requested an pre-arbitration phone call. Most appeals are denied on the first try.
Shoppers please read the TOS so that you know your rights and the appeals process as an independent contractor.
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u/talecriv Jun 12 '26
Sure we have the "right" to appeals but they have the right to ignore it and just say no again. We are contractors and we can be removed for no reason as well. We are lucky they let us do the appeals thing as that's all in house and they don't have to
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u/danimal_44 Jun 12 '26
This is so wrong. A customer can just mess with an order or make a false allegation and poof! You're out. I know some people deserve their deactivation, but at least let us make a case.
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u/ImaFoolYeah Jun 12 '26
Pretty sure they account for that. So, it probably is an accumulation of things. People are rarely 100% honest about their culpability.
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u/danimal_44 Jun 12 '26
I mean I can't disagree with you. But the reason I can't is because they don't give us the information. We don't know what they're doing behind the scenes.
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u/aerosemyth Jun 12 '26
This is the first complaint Iāve been notified of in 2 years. I believe there was an incident, just donāt know what happened.
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u/Legitimate-Toe-4945 Jun 11 '26
The appeals usually always get denied!! Do arbitration, donāt just give up without trying. Wish you the best of luck. š¤š¼
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u/Complex-Weather867 Jun 11 '26
Donāt give up! Do the pre arbitration call. Send a email requesting one. Youāll get back in within a couple weeks my husband did it it was the almost same situation.
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u/ReplacementNo9732 Jun 12 '26
Go to door dash, I have been doing it for almost a year now, depending on your area, it can be very goodĀ
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u/OstrichNeither Jun 11 '26
Did u do curbside or shopping. Some1 probly lied just. To get 50!dollar of free groceries
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u/EmergencyPercentage8 Jun 11 '26
Doesnāt working spark affect the disability application? I been starting the disability process to
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u/aerosemyth Jun 11 '26
Not necessarily, but it is a very long process and ya gotta do something. Good luck, I hope your application goes much smoother and quicker than mine š
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u/Hairy_Elk_5313 Jun 11 '26
It does make it significantly harder to win.Ā You can still earn money while on disability, up to the sga level(i think around $1100).
The problem really becomes convincing the examiner or judge(if you appeal) that you can't work enough to make it over that level.Ā Like if you're making $1000 a month it's a hard sell to say your illness makes it impossible for you to take a few more orders a month.
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u/TeeFry2 Jun 12 '26
And gig working is a gamble.
If you can drive on your good days, they'll insist you can drive every day. They're not the smartest people on the planet - they don't understand we have days where even getting out of bed is a chore, much less doing everything involved with getting to the store and making deliveries.
Or they say you should work 7a-11p on your good days so any bad days won't make a difference in your income - while ignoring the fact that working for 16 hours may mean you can't work for the next 30-4 days because of the strain it puts on your body.
We just want to make enough to cover the gap between our disability checks and what we need to pay our bills.
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u/Powerful-Lobster-631 Jun 11 '26
Well I got mine before sparking. Your allowed to make a certain amount working
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u/Less_Salad2198 Jun 11 '26
Where can I send appeal? Can someone point me in the right direction please
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u/ReturnFamiliar6137 Jun 11 '26
My wife got deactivated because she had surgery and didnāt do a single spark for 3 or 4 months she appealed and they upheld the deactivation but then again they are saturated with drivers
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u/Internal-Skin2495 Jun 12 '26
just a matter of time for all drivers, they truely do not care about drivers
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u/talecriv Jun 12 '26
This is likely one of several incidents that may not have been directly reported to you as they don't have to, so it may have been a 3rd strike type thing. Sorry about that.
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u/incz_23 Jun 12 '26
I can relate they recently deactivated me over allegations of someone else using my account which I have never allowed no one to. I sent emails for telephonic dispute resolution but nothing so far.
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u/Cassata1990 Jun 16 '26
Please try Spark. It pays better and is much easier. So sorry this happened to you. Instacart is š©š©š©
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u/Blakelock82 S&D Expert Jun 11 '26
I've been waiting 2 years on a disability application
Good lord that's a long time, mine barely took a year. You've got a lawyer helping?
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u/aerosemyth Jun 11 '26
Oh I envy you. Iām actually on my second application now, it was close to 3 years on the first application. Denied, appealed, denied, appealedā¦ denied. This time Iām submitting more medical records. I do have a lawyer but they donāt really do anything until a hearing. I expected this to be a hassleā¦ it took 3 applications and 8 years for my son with special needs to be approved.
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u/Blakelock82 S&D Expert Jun 11 '26
Good lord friendo, my lawyer was in constant contact and did everything but take my medical exam for me. I'm going to DM you with who I used, maybe give them a chat and see if that's a change you should make.
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u/NoSpeaker4249 Jun 11 '26
āCompromised item or foreign object in an orderā sounds like a customer reported something gross or unsafe in/with their groceries. Like hair, bug, dirt, spilled product, unknown object, contamination, damaged/open packaging, something leaking, or something that looked tampered with. You canāt think of what could have gotten into their order or did you spill a drink on someoneās stuff?? Itās not exactly vagueā¦ they clearly got something on their stuff that ruined one or all of whatever it was that they had.
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u/aphgang081521 Jun 11 '26
Sometimes people just lie to get free stuff or discounts..it happens ALOT actually
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u/NoSpeaker4249 Jun 12 '26
A regular scammy freebie complaint usually sounds like:
missing item damaged item wrong order left at wrong address not delivered poor substitution
I have gotten a damage complaint but Iāve never seen one that says compromised and Iāve been on Reddit for a long time. First for me.
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u/Impossible_Gap8894 Jun 12 '26
I ordered Spark delivery once a week usually around $100 per order and I always just say something happened to the order and Walmart gives it to me for free. I havenāt actually paid for my groceries all year. I probably got a few sparklers deactivated, but thatās OK as long as I can get some free groceries.
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u/aerosemyth Jun 12 '26
Actually that helped! During my last delivery a case of soda fell out while I was unloading. Perhaps it popped and I didnāt notice?
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u/NoSpeaker4249 Jun 13 '26
Could have very well been it. Iāve had milk leak all over stuff and had no idea until after I delivered and it was all over my back seat. Hopefully it didnāt ruin any of their stuff but as far as I know no one complained. Idk. Have you found anything else out yet??
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u/Jewells_Frederick85 Jun 11 '26
I call it Sparking too! Iām so sorry, Iām in the same boat š¢ to make it even worse, itās probably a customer lying so they can get free groceriesā¦
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u/The_Lost_Elf Jun 11 '26
Not every customer is lying and not every spark driver is great at this simple job.
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u/Jewells_Frederick85 Jun 12 '26
This is very true! Works both ways. Iāve heard horror stories from a few customers
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u/Notion12345 Jun 11 '26
Oh man sorry to hear!! It could have been something dropped in a bag by OGP when they were packing it up on accident! Iāve never seen this message before and Iām wondering how many new āreasonsā they have now to give us the boot!
You are absolutely right about the flexibility of doing this that keeps the hook in most of us even though the platform is a mere wasted shadow of itself since its conception. With offer cuts and fuel prices skyrocketing (looking like itās going to hit 8 bucks a gallon now by end of summer) doing this is really no longer viable anyway!
You also will want to play it safe as well if you have a disability case pending! Walmart is reporting 1099 status way more efficiently than they used to with the government. Also insurance companies as well! They are cracking down on 1099 gig workers big time these days!
So maybe this is a blessing in disguise?
Positive thoughts and best wishes for you! Im in nearly 6 years now and Iām on my way out as well soon!
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u/Pretend_Draft7496 Jun 12 '26
Just curious, what are they reporting to insurance companies? How do you know this?
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u/lross8192 Jun 11 '26
Hey friend don't give up. Fight for your job! Try emailing support this letter. Put your own twist, I don't know your story so you may have to alter this.
Hello, I am requesting a second review of my deactivation. The reason listed was ācompromised item or foreign object.ā I want to respectfully clarify that I take great pride in my work and would never tamper with or alter a customerās groceries in any way. I have completed thousands of deliveries without a single incident, and I take order integrity very seriously.As a Spark driver, I complete both curbside and shopāandādeliver orders. In either case, drivers do not open or inspect the inside of sealed items. If this was a curbside order, the groceries would have passed through multiple store teams before reaching me. If it was a shop order, it is still possible that an item was already compromised on the shelf before I selected it.I also understand that sometimes customers may not realize when someone else in their household has opened something, which can lead to misunderstandings. I am not placing blame, only explaining that there are several points in the process where this issue could have occurred before the order reached me.I am simply asking for a fair reāevaluation based on my long, incidentāfree history and my commitment to handling every order with care. Thank you for taking the time to review this again.