Originally Posted by GMOChicken

You've been really lucky then. Rideshare in India in general is inundated with scams, BOM & DEL are terrible & although I have not used them in Chennai I have no reason to believe that it is different there. Uber & Ola even station customer service reps at the DEL & BOM airport pickup locations to help frustrated passengers to deal with the drivers. I use taxis from the airport prepaid taxi kiosk whenever possible.

Some of the more common scams.

1. The no-show. Drivers get paid a little money if you cancel a ride, so they accept rides they have no intention of fulfilling. They just wait until you get frustrated and cancel, pocketing a small stream of money for doing nothing.

2. The cancel after pickup and pay in cash. The driver will pick you up, but pressure you to cancel the ride (paying uber & the driver the cancellation charge) and pay cash directly to the driver. Drivers then pressure you to pay extra sometimes.

3. Tolls/etc not included. The drivers insist that tolls, airport parking, etc. are not included in the fare and must be paid to the driver in cash.

4. The no-pickup unless fare paid in cash. Uber/Ola in India accept payments in cash to the driver (not just by credit card). Drivers prefer this because they do not pay the rideshare company their percentage. The driver will accept your ride then phone you and ask if you are paying by card or with cash. If you are paying by card the driver will no-show leaving you hanging until you get frustrated and cancel (paying uber & the driver the cancellation charge)

5. The no-pickup unless fare is long enough. The driver will accept your ride then phone you and ask where you are going. If your destination is too close the driver will no-show leaving you hanging until you get frustrated and cancel (paying uber & the driver the cancellation charge).

None of this is the drivers fault really. Drivers used to make a lot of money on Uber/Ola a few years ago, when the companies were pouring VC money into the market as driver incentives. That stopped a couple of years ago & drivers are barely making subsistence now and are forced to scam you. Rideshare companies are absolutely powerless to do anything about this because of massive driver turnover.