Kiruba Devi: So after my traumatic experience with #UBER last Thursday all I received from them was about 3phone calls asking about what happened. Its been a week now and I feel nothing has been done. I was robbed by the UBER driver n he wouldn’t stop the car. During this time he drove Phoenix and me around in circles fir almost an hour! I called up UBER support n informed the support personnel to trace the car as I was in it with my daughter and she FLIPPANTLY told me to just stop at a police station n we will reimburse the stolen money. I screamed at this point saying that I’m in the UBER still n the driver didn’t want to stop! She then proceeded to hang up the phone. In the end he stopped at Mont Kiara police station. He was hesitant to get out. At this point i told my daughter to run into the police station. The driver tried to push me and we had a physical tussle. A Korean woman passing by helped get an officer n accompanied Phoenix into the station. By this time the driver had driven off but one of the officers jumped on his bike n gave chase. The driver was caught within minutes. Phoenix was very shaken up with the whole thing she wasn’t talking or smiling for at least 3hrs due to shock!! I’m still waiting for new from UBER !!! All I ever get is “we are still investigating” which I think is a lame excuse to stall fir time. I’m extremely disappointed with UBER by the way the my distress call was handled!
My trust for Uber is gone, says single mother
Mother and child left in a lurch as a Uber driver steals money out of her purse and proceeds to drive them in circles
KUALA LUMPUR: A single mother who largely depended on Uber to get around the city has lost hope on the popular ride-sharing app after being snubbed by its support team in the midst of a terror ride she experienced close to two weeks ago.
On April 27, Kiruba Devi requested a ride on the trusted app, as she has done umpteen times in the past, and things went smoothly until she needed to make a quick stop at the Duta bus terminal to purchase a ticket to Langkawi.
Kiruba peeled out a few notes from a stack of RM1,000 she had, to purchase her ticket and left the remaining in her handbag in the car, out of trust. She also left her sleeping six-year old in the car for the very same reason.
“I told the driver that I’m leaving my bag and my daughter who had slept off in the car and will be back in two minutes. You trust them (driver) because Uber has all your details as well as the driver’s.
“But when I came back, I saw that my bag was open so I checked through my bag to see if all my things were there and I couldn’t find the money. I told him that the money is missing from my bag and he was like ‘I don’t know…maybe you dropped it somewhere in the car’ which just doesn’t make sense because I am not going to drop RM1,000 in the car and forget about it,” she said.
When pressed further, the driver started driving around in circles, refusing to stop at the Mont Kiara police station as she had requested him to do.
“I was robbed by the Uber driver and he wouldn’t stop the car. During this time he drove Phoenix (daughter) and me around in circles for almost an hour!” said Kiruba.
The driver eventually stopped at the Mont Kiara police station as Kiruba started making calls to the Uber help centre, and the matter was resolved amicably after the driver confessed, but what’s most disappointing to Kiruba is the way Uber support centre dealt with her distress call when she and her child was stuck in the car not knowing their fate.
“I called up Uber support and informed the support personnel to trace the car as I was in it with my daughter and she flippantly told me to just stop at a police station and we will reimburse the stolen money.
“I screamed at this point saying that I’m in the Uber still and the driver didn’t want to stop! She then proceeded to hang up the phone,” said Kiruba.
She said that in the end the driver stopped at the Mont Kiara police station but was hesitant to get out.
“At this point I told my daughter to run into the police station. The driver tried to push me and we had a physical tussle. A Korean woman passing by helped get an officer and accompanied Phoenix into the station. By this time the driver had driven off but one of the officers jumped on his bike and gave chase. The driver was caught within minutes. Phoenix was very shaken up with the whole thing she wasn’t talking or smiling for at least three hours due to shock,” she said.
Not pressing charges
Kiruba, who works in Langkawi, decided it would be far too much trouble for her to go through the legal process of charging the driver, chose not to press charges but has completely lost trust in the ride-sharing app.
“So after my traumatic experience with Uber last Thursday all I received from them was about three phone calls asking about what happened. It’s been a week now and I feel nothing has been done.
“I’m still waiting for news from Uber!!! All I ever get is ‘we are still investigating’ which I think is a lame excuse to stall for time. I’m extremely disappointed with Uber by the way the my distress call was handled!,” she wrote on Facebook four days ago.
When contacted, Kiruba said that she would consider legal action against Uber if there is no response from them until this Thursday which will be exactly two weeks since her ordeal.
“They (Uber) could have easily called a police patrol and told them to follow me because this guy didn’t want to stop the car and at that point we don’t know what is going on in his head, and the only one who knew I was in trouble was the Uber support girl who picked up the phone. She asked me to go to a nearby police station and just hung up the phone.
“What makes me angry is how Uber’s support personnel handled the call. What if this guy takes me somewhere and kills my daughter and me? Nobody is going to know about it. Like when someone is desperate, you don’t know how their brain just snaps,” said Kiruba.
She added that she did not press charges because the driver was an army man who had two children and a wife pregnant with their third child.
Kiruba said that she will consider suing Uber if she was not reimbursed accordingly for the trauma that she and her child endured.
“I am upset that Uber support personnel just hung up on me, and for hiring this guy without doing background checks or a mental test. Anyone can turn up with a driving license and a car and be a Uber driver but what background do these people have? There is no trust anymore.
“At the moment Uber has done nothing. I am not saying all Uber drivers are bad but Uber should do an evaluation before hiring. They should train their personnel as well. It has been two weeks and I haven’t heard from Uber. I don’t know if the driver has been banned, or blacklisted. All I got was an apology and a RM17 refund.
“This could happen to anyone else. What if it was someone younger and not so street smart, with a younger baby? When you have a baby, you end up having more bags and more things so what is she supposed to do? Carry out the diaper bag and everything to step out and come back in?
“He (driver) was literally right at the entrance (of the bus station) when I went to get my ticket. I thought Uber was safer, because if it was a taxi I wouldn’t have left my bag or my daughter in the car. Some people can blame me for leaving my bag in the car but I left my bag out of trust, I left my child because of trust. I trust Uber, but now that’s gone.
“I want to get reimbursed for the trauma I and my child went through,” she said.
However when contacted, Jeffrey from Uber response team said “we have already contacted the rider after the incident and the issue has been resolved”.
Source: Berita Daily