THE DIGITAL BOTTLE: A DAUGHTER’S PLEA AFTER THE LOSS OF GLENN PERKINS 🛑💔🏠
Uber says drivers won’t deliver alcohol to drunk customers after death of dad
Glenn Perkins with his daughter Daisy
The family of an alcoholic who spent thousands of pounds on delivery apps to order alcohol have called for more safety measures. Former firefighter Glenn Perkins would spend up to £60 a day on Uber Eats getting cider and other drinks. The easy access to alcohol accelerated the Gillingham man’s death, his daughter has claimed, as she calls on more to be done to restrict the sale of alcohol.
Glenn died in hospital in January suffering from alcoholic liver disease. Daughter Connie Perkins, 30, said: “If it wasn’t for Uber Eats I strongly believe my dad would still be here. My dad’s been an alcoholic my whole life, and it became worse in the last few years.
“He was living on his own. He hardly ever left the house and didn’t need to, because Uber Eats was delivering to the door. In his last few months, he didn’t shower, change, shave, or look after himself.”
Order history from Mr Perkins’ account showed him ordering vast amounts of alcohol. Some of the screenshots show the 55-year-old had ordered 16 items over a five-day period, totalling £80.
Another showed 15 items ordered over a three-day period and totalling £67. Connie emailed Uber Eats in 2022, asking them to blacklist her father’s account over fears for his health.
A reply from the company said: “We are sorry to hear about the issue you’ve described and can understand the importance of your concern. However, according to our privacy policy, we need to speak directly to the account holder to protect the account’s privacy. Therefore, we request you please suggest to your father to reach out to us directly so that we can assist with the concern properly.”
Connie, who runs a cleaning business with her sister, said: “There needs to be some sort of safeguarding as delivery drivers would’ve known he was drunk. He used to be in the hospital a lot and would answer the door in hospital pyjamas, but they’re still giving him this alcohol.”
Glenn Perkins, 55, died from alcoholic liver disease in January
Connie said her father even switched to a Nokia phone at one point so that he couldn’t access delivery apps, but he soon switched back. She says her father, who used to live in Whitstable, suffered from PTSD and bipolar after working in the fire brigade and being called to a traumatic crash involving a young girl.
According to Connie, Mr Perkins was a functioning alcoholic who would need a drink to keep going. ” We didn’t speak to him for months sometimes, but at the end of the day, he was our dad, and he couldn’t help it,” she said. “I’d look at him and know he wouldn’t want to have a drink, but he would need it. It was horrible to watch.”
Mr Perkins officially died of aspiration pneumonia on January 20 after being hospitalised with alcoholic liver disease. Connie is backing a petition launched by Alexandria Hughes after her sister died due to her alcoholism. She’s calling on the government to introduce tougher measures to protect vulnerable people.
An Uber Eats spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about this family’s loss. The safety and well-being of our community is our priority and we have made significant updates to our support measures on this issue in recent years. This includes placing restrictions on platform access for customers where necessary and an ongoing partnership with Drinkaware to implement further alcohol safety measures, including clear signposting to support resources.
“To help ensure responsible consumption, every alcohol delivery requires the courier to confirm the recipient’s date of birth as per their physical ID and conduct a sobriety check before an order can be completed.”
