Two Beijingers Have Bad Experiences with Uber Drivers

Two Beijingers Have Bad Experiences with Uber Drivers
Sep 13, 2016 Translated by eChinacities.com

Editor’s Note: Uber has become a staple in Beijing as a cheap and convenient alternative to taxis. However, the number of Uber horror stories have begun to pile up in China. Here are two examples of how a bad Uber can really ruin your evening.

Is Uber Beijing the best service in the city, or an unregulated nightmare? Two recent stories of Uber issues have recently come to light. Netizens have pointed out that complaints are difficult to make through Uber’s mobile app.

Driver Sends Threatening Messages
A woman received threatening messages after canceling an Uber ride in Beijing. Mr. Li of Haidian reported last Friday that his wife had had a scary incident with an Uber driver. When Mrs. Li called an Uber, a vehicle with a non-Beijing license plate accepted her request. It was late at night, and Mrs. Li was nervous about the ride. She canceled the request, and the driver began to send threatening messages like, “Be careful, or I will kill you.” The couple reported the incident to Uber.

Mrs. Li had been out with colleagues Friday evening, and ordered an Uber to ride home. A car with a Sichuan license plate accepted her request. She canceled the order because she did not think the vehicle was safe. “Then she requested another car, got the same vehicle, and canceled again,” said Mr. Li. Uber riders can cancel order within 10 minutes of request. The Uber driver, however, was not happy and texted her, “Be careful or I will kill you.”

Mrs. Li was shocked, but replied politely: “There is no problem, I have been polite with you and I hope you can be polite as well.” The driver chose not to follow her lead and sent two more threatening texts.

When Mr. Li was angry when Mrs. Li told him what had happened. Mr. Li filed a complaint with Uber and reported the incident to the local police. The police told him they would investigate. Mrs. Li posted the story on Weibo and it was read by many Netizens. Netizens agreed with Mrs. Li that filing a complaint with Uber is difficult: one must complain through the app and there is no customer service phone number.

The official Uber Beijing Weibo messaged the Lis and said they would investigate the incident. The company stated that the perpetrator “would be dealt with severely.” Mr. Li said Uber’s emergency team had contacted his wife last night and said they had canceled the drivers’ account. The company also reimbursed the couple 6 RMB for the ride.

Driver Never Shows Up
Mr. Chen of Fengtai District also had a bad experience with Uber this weekend. He called an Uber at his office in Dongdan. The driver confirmed the ride and the app showed that the car would arrive in seven or eight minutes. However, two minutes later, the app said that Mr. Chen had gotten into the car. The driver was now about three kilometers away.

Mr. Chen tried to call the driver but he did not answer. When the driver reached Jianguomen, the app notified Mr. Chen that the trip had ended and charged him 14 Yuan.

“In the past, Uber drivers usually take the initiative to contact me to confirm the accuracy of my location and tell me how long it takes for them to arrive. This is the first time something like this had happened and I did not know what to do,” said Mr. Chen.

That night, Mr. Chen spent 56 minutes filing the complaint with Uber. He looked for the company’s customer service phone number or email online but could not find either. He eventually sent feedback to the company via email.

Uber replied to Mr. Chen’s message in two hours through its mobile app. The company had verified the trip information. Uber said that drivers cannot start the trip without the passenger in any circumstances. The 14 Yuan charge for the trip will be returned to Mr. Chen within 1-2 working days.

Source: QQ News

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Keywords: Uber Beijing Uber drivers Beijing

5 Comments

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Lauwrence

Had similar experiences with Didi, except for the threats part (which would probably have me wave the same cab again and deal with it in person).

Oct 25, 2016 21:04 Report Abuse

Chairman_Meow

Wow! What a great story! Forget about the thousands of people who get screwed by taxis everyday.

Oct 25, 2016 16:45 Report Abuse

nitai

Black taxi recycled

Sep 25, 2016 12:11 Report Abuse

Guest14237834

Chinese cabdrivers trying to scam and/or threaten customers? Does this surprise anybody, really? I'll bet you a 1000 bucks these are just former black cab drivers trying to drive for uber/didichuxing, trying to keep their scams going. Don't get me wrong, Uber should have a proper customer service line for complaints, that is for sure as well.

Sep 14, 2016 13:04 Report Abuse

shivap

OMG this is not good...

Sep 14, 2016 10:51 Report Abuse