A Bengaluru commuter booked an Ola cab for Rs 285 but was confronted by the driver with a fraudulent bill of Rs 5,950. The driver, who became aggressive, claimed the charge was for old cancellations, and the passenger received no help from Ola's emergency support, prompting a viral social media post.
A Bengaluru commuter has revealed a misleading new strategy used by taxi drivers to raise rates. After ordering an Ola cab from Majestic to Jalahalli for Rs 285, the customer was reportedly greeted with a Rs 5,950 charge made on the driver's personal phone. This story, published on X (previously Twitter), exposes the sloppy techniques some drivers use to swindle naïve customers.
"He [driver] claimed that I had cancelled some old rides and that the amount would be deducted from his account if I did not pay," the passenger wrote, adding: "When I tried to explain that my app clearly showed Rs 285, the driver started becoming aggressive and repeatedly insisted that I must pay Rs 5950."
The scenario became 'stressful' and difficult to manage because the driver was largely speaking Kannada and the passenger was not conversant in the language. Despite calling the taxi service provider, no remedy was provided.
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"I then contacted Ola's emergency support through the app, expecting immediate help. Unfortunately, the response from the support representative was extremely disappointing and dismissive," the passenger said, adding that the Ola representative was rude and dismissive.
Check Out Viral Post
Social Media Reactions
As the post went viral, social media users empathised with the passenger and said that they should have immediately phoned the police. "Please contact 112 in these instances; their ETA is just 5 to 10 minutes," one user wrote, while another added, "Happened to me as well, when they claim 'it's not an emergency' and hang up the phone. Pretty lame and disconcerting."
A third person said, “The only thing these cab aggregators will do is refund the money. As if refunding will alleviate all of the anguish and abuse. These taxi firms never take action against such drivers; it's a sad truth.”
A fourth added, “Simple solution for this type of problem. Remove the cash trip option from your app and switch to a prepaid model. Payment should be deducted after the trip is accepted, and the card should be kept for refunds or extra charges.”
