Are Uber Drivers Running A Scam At Airports?

Are Uber drivers running a scam at Sydney airport?

Last week for the second time in as three months I booked an Uber car to pick me up at Sydney airport for a 21-kilometre trip to Mosman in NSW.

After a 10 minute wait the car arrived as per the Uber app, the only problem is that as soon as I got into the car the driver who was from Bangladesh said that the trip had “suddenly” been cancelled.

He claimed that I had cancelled the trip, which was untrue, he then said we had to get out of the car and rebook a new driver. Then came the con, or “I can take you for cash” the driver who went by the name of Amin said.

As it was late at night I took the cash offer of $80.

Then came the sting, I also got hit by a $9.00 cancellation fee.

This was not the first time that this has happened to me. It happened when I jumped into a cab at the airport only for the driver to offer to not run the fair through the metre.

Currently Uber is facing major issues regarding the ride and eats businesses in Australia.

Despite rapid growth in consumer uptake, in 2017 Uber has been plagued by several scandals and controversies including sexual harassment allegations, high-profile departures including the CEO and president of business in the Asia-Pacific region and underpaying drivers.

Recently their head of PR quit to take up a role at Amazon.

Problems have also emerged with their Uber Eats business which is one of the major players in this market.

ABC News claimed recently that what consumers may not know is that restaurant owners must sign up to some dubious contract terms if they want Uber Eats to deliver meals for them.

One of these terms is: “You acknowledge … Uber is a technology services provider … [which does not] provide any delivery or logistics services.”

This is in addition to charging restaurants a 35 per cent commission for every delivery made.

Despite Uber denying it does “deliveries” in legal documents, several posts on its website tell a different story.

About Post Author

David Richards

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.