Uber driver starts trip without me
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: CGK
Programs: Starwood PLATINUM, BA GOLD, KrisFlyer Blue, GFF Silver, BATS After Work Club, Emirates Silver
Posts: 390
Uber driver starts trip without me
This has happened to me 4 times now.
-I order a car.
-The driver is identified, but instead of coming to pick me up, he starts the trip
-Since the trip has already started but I am not in the car, I have to cancel, otherwise I have no ride
-I get charged for cancellation
- I cannot leave negative feedback for the driver.
The first time it happened they refunded me, the last 3 times (same driver) still waiting for a response. Also the driver had rating of 1.7, so I don't even understand how you can be a driver with a rating like that.
-I order a car.
-The driver is identified, but instead of coming to pick me up, he starts the trip
-Since the trip has already started but I am not in the car, I have to cancel, otherwise I have no ride
-I get charged for cancellation
- I cannot leave negative feedback for the driver.
The first time it happened they refunded me, the last 3 times (same driver) still waiting for a response. Also the driver had rating of 1.7, so I don't even understand how you can be a driver with a rating like that.
#2
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,617
Publicly shame them on social media. Otherwise, you'll never get their attention. Also, file disputes with your credit card company. Not being present or cancelling late and being charged the cancellation fee is one thing, that was agreed upon when you signed up, but being charged a cancellation fee because of negligence on the part of the driver is a failure to provide services that you were charged for.
Last edited by diburning; Oct 15, 2016 at 5:45 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: CGK
Programs: Starwood PLATINUM, BA GOLD, KrisFlyer Blue, GFF Silver, BATS After Work Club, Emirates Silver
Posts: 390
Yes, that's why I posted it here :-)
It's only $2.50 in total, and my company pays it anyway, but still it seems weird that I have contacted them 10 times and no reply, and it just seems a hole in their process that they haven't thought through. Usually they respond very quickly to fraud.
Anyway next time my strategy is to change the destination to a place very close to the pick up place and let it hang, while ordering another car through GrabCar. In the meantime until they respond I will decrease my usage of Uber to situations where I don't have another choice.
It's only $2.50 in total, and my company pays it anyway, but still it seems weird that I have contacted them 10 times and no reply, and it just seems a hole in their process that they haven't thought through. Usually they respond very quickly to fraud.
Anyway next time my strategy is to change the destination to a place very close to the pick up place and let it hang, while ordering another car through GrabCar. In the meantime until they respond I will decrease my usage of Uber to situations where I don't have another choice.
#4
Join Date: Jun 2015
Programs: VX Gold/WN Companion
Posts: 682
Uber used to be phenomenal about customer service issues....until I had the same thing happen.
Drooped pin then texted driver what hotel we were at and where the entrance was. Driver got close, started the trip then drove in circles missing the hotel TWICE. OF course being a big city they had to drive quite a bit to double back. I was furious that the driver started the trip and complained to uber....they could have cared less even after several emails back and forth and did not even address that it was a problem.
That is how driver are scamming customers and Uber appears to be OK with it.
Drooped pin then texted driver what hotel we were at and where the entrance was. Driver got close, started the trip then drove in circles missing the hotel TWICE. OF course being a big city they had to drive quite a bit to double back. I was furious that the driver started the trip and complained to uber....they could have cared less even after several emails back and forth and did not even address that it was a problem.
That is how driver are scamming customers and Uber appears to be OK with it.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: CGK
Programs: Starwood PLATINUM, BA GOLD, KrisFlyer Blue, GFF Silver, BATS After Work Club, Emirates Silver
Posts: 390
Interesting. It's quite scary how we hand over our credit card data to them, and various fictitious charges can be charged without any way to force Uber to reverse the charge. My guess is they have had to scale back a lot on customer service, for financial reasons.
#6
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,617
Their front line customer service reps (for Uber in the US) are in Manila, Philippines. You won't get a stateside rep to respond to your inquiry/complaint without constant nagging and complaining. The reps in Manila can either be one of three types. 1. Form letter response that doesn't actually relate to your message. 2. They get ambitious and write a personal response. Most times it's intelligible, sometimes it's not, but either way, it's usually not helpful. 3. You get a rep that actually knows what they are doing and actually helps you (rare, but they do exist!)
Uber's customer service absolutely sucks, but I use them anyway because it's convenient. (and because most of the time, there's no surge while Lyft is doing a 150% prime time)
Uber's customer service absolutely sucks, but I use them anyway because it's convenient. (and because most of the time, there's no surge while Lyft is doing a 150% prime time)
#7
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: LAX/FAO
Posts: 354
I've always had great experiences with uber (and Lyft) until last week in San Francisco. I requested a car and didn't move from my location. The driver was one street over from me but then turned in the wrong direction. I was looking for the option to contact him when *he* cancelled and I was charged a $5 cancellation fee and of course had to start over with requesting/waiting for a car.
I don't know why uber lets drivers claim that someone is a no show (I assume that's what happened) when the gps data clearly shows that the driver didn't go to the location and made no attempt to contact me.
I don't know why uber lets drivers claim that someone is a no show (I assume that's what happened) when the gps data clearly shows that the driver didn't go to the location and made no attempt to contact me.
#8
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
I experienced an analogous situation tonight.
I was dropped off and noticed I didn't get an immediate receipt by email, as I ordinarily do. I did finally get a receipt that showed my trip ending several miles away. I contacted Uber, and within 2 minutes, received a professional apology and a generous refund.
The driver was a mediocre driver who gave the most brief of hellos and goodbyes. But his car was clean and he drove safely. I gave him five stars, out of reflex, but I noticed that he did not return the favor, even though I went above and beyond rider etiquette and even texted him where I was wearing at the exact point I was waiting to be picked up.
I now, of course, hope he perishes in a horrific single-car accident.
I was dropped off and noticed I didn't get an immediate receipt by email, as I ordinarily do. I did finally get a receipt that showed my trip ending several miles away. I contacted Uber, and within 2 minutes, received a professional apology and a generous refund.
The driver was a mediocre driver who gave the most brief of hellos and goodbyes. But his car was clean and he drove safely. I gave him five stars, out of reflex, but I noticed that he did not return the favor, even though I went above and beyond rider etiquette and even texted him where I was wearing at the exact point I was waiting to be picked up.
I now, of course, hope he perishes in a horrific single-car accident.
#10
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Programs: Hilton Gold, Priority Club Blue, SPG Gold, Sofitel Gold, FB Ivory, BA Blue
Posts: 8,470
Happened to me this morning. Fortunately, the driver was just around the corner, and the final fare was still the 5000 UGX minimum I'd expect for q quick run from my apartment to the office.
#11
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
Through my own stupidity (trying to get a fare quote but accidentally ordering a UberX pickup from LAX while I was sat at LHR ), I had to immediately cancel and was auto-charged $4.50.
To be fair to Uber, the same amount was then auto-refunded onto my card within minutes.
Unfortunately, my card company decided this was suspicious and froze my account which took a full day to sort out
To be fair to Uber, the same amount was then auto-refunded onto my card within minutes.
Unfortunately, my card company decided this was suspicious and froze my account which took a full day to sort out
#12
Join Date: May 2008
Location: BOS/SIN
Programs: SQ
Posts: 2,704
Sometimes if a passenger 'drops the PIN' to set their location it can be different from your actual location. I've heard from drivers that this can be quite an issue and that the PIN is rarely exact. I'd recommend double-checking to make sure that you are actually at the same location that you put into your app, and then politely call the driver if they are being misled by Uber's GPS.