Roman Sharf, the CEO and founder of Luxury Bazaar, recently took to Instagram and TikTok to allege, “I’m out $1,500 thanks to Uber.” In a post, he claimed that an Uber Courier driver stole a $1,500 iPhone he had entrusted to the service. Sharf, a Pennsylvania-based dealer in luxury watches, shared his experience with over 181,000 viewers, claiming the driver canceled the trip and then falsely accused him of shipping prohibited items.
According to his post, Sharf needed to get a replacement phone to his daughter, who is away at college, after she broke her phone. He claimed that he ordered a replacement from a trusted vendor who delivered it at 9 AM. He told his viewers, “I’m thinking, okay, what’s the easiest way for me to get this phone to my daughter? Because she’s an hour away. Well, Uber courier to the rescue.”
After the driver picked up the package, Sharf expected a smooth delivery. However, when his daughter called to see where the package was, he saw that his phone was not tracking the Uber. He alleged, “I go in [the app], and I see it’s canceled or failed,” he explained. “And I’m like, the hell is going on? Needless to say, my daughter waited around for 10, 20 minutes, Nobody ever showed up.”
Sharf claimed that talking to support was his first real hurdle
In his post, Sharf claimed that after talking to a bot for 20 minutes, he asked for a live person. All this person could do, Sharf alleged, was share his number with the driver. Nothing came of it. Then he claimed he got an email the next day, the screenshot of which he added to his video. He claimed it stated, “Hi, Roman. Reaching out to you because we received a report that you recently used Uber Courier to transport a prohibited item.”
The message further claimed that delivery people are instructed to take prohibited items to local law enforcement for disposal. Sharf was quick to dispute these claims, noting that he had video evidence of the phone being packed and sealed at his office. “So no, there was no illegal items in there. It was a brand new iPhone,” he stated. He then went on to ask for the police report, if the driver had followed regulations.
Sharf also pointed out the irony of the situation, noting that the driver’s claim of finding prohibited items would logically require the driver to have opened the package first. “So this guy not only steals my phone… he also goes on to report me for a prohibited item,” Sharf alleged. We only have Sharf’s version of events, so it should not be treated as verifiable fact.
One of his Instagram viewers immediately agreed and tagged Uber to note, “The hysterical part is how in the ever loving f— would an @uber driver know a package contains prohibited items unless they stole it and opened it.” Another user on TikTok echoed these concerns, writing, “So many dealers use uber to deliver important packages. You’ve saved a ton of businesses with this video. Never ever again will I use them for anything of value.”
One user alleged that they had faced similar challenges. They wrote, “We own a pharmacy and have relied on Uber’s healthcare-specific delivery service in emergencies. We’ve had drivers pick up medications, not deliver them, go silent, and even demand we cancel. These aren’t just packages.”
Interestingly, over the past year, Uber has faced scrutiny regarding its safety and vetting processes. According to The New York Times, the company’s previous policies allowed for drivers with various criminal convictions to operate on the platform. Following this, the company announced it would expand the list of criminal offenses that permanently disqualify a driver in the United States, including violent felonies and sexual offenses.
The company also reportedly stated that it would extend the time period for background checks. The new check now ensures that they cover any place a driver has lived and that current drivers would undergo annual checks.
Despite these changes, users remain skeptical. Many of the responses to Sharf’s video urged him to involve law enforcement. “Make a police report, the value of the phone puts it at grand larceny and. You have video and they can arrest him,” one user suggested.
Sharf maintains that his primary concern is the lack of accountability. “My question to you Uber is what are you willing to do about it and how are you going to solve this issue,” he said. “This loses all trust and faith in Uber courier service that people use all day, every day.”
His viewers agreed. As one noted, “It’s about the principle – it’s the theft – it’s the violation of trust and violation of simple human decency and @uber ‘s violation of their obligations to their customers.”
Published: Oct 9, 2026 10:37 am