[SidTheChamp]

When you take a Uber and Ola ride, at the completion of the ride a nice payments page pops up with light green background and he amount to pay coming in White in a large font.

The obvious purpose was that the amount was very easy to read and should be the settling amount. But that can be easily faked.

And now this has started to happen. An Uber driver started picking up passengers from Bangalore International Airport to city which is a long trip around 40-60 kms. The driver asks for OTP but actually never starts the ride in the app and at the destination shows a screenshot of Rs 5194/- to be paid.

He manages to get away by stating its a server error and money would be refunded. Or being aggressive.
Many fell prey to the trick and pay the money.
It helps that at BIAL and many other airports, when you pick Ola/Uber you are asked to go to Ola/Uber kiosk and there only you are assigned a cab, not prior to that. So the rider cannot see the cab and driver details beforehand and since the ride never started doesn't get to see the ride details, only a cancelled notification.

Now it has emerged that this trick has been applied to other airports in India also like Hyderabad which has similar kiosk based booking at the airport.

So be careful and extra cautious when picking up rides from airport when cab is assigned last minute by Ola/Uber

Source:
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/te...-12229411.html

https://www.timesnownews.com/technol...icle-107559619

[Renaissance Man]

These scams are always related to paying cash or UPI to the driver. I always opt for online payment as getting refund or solving issues with Uber/Ola is much better than haggling with the drivers.

[SidTheChamp]

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

These scams are always related to paying cash or UPI to the driver. I always opt for online payment as getting refund or solving issues with Uber/Ola is much better than haggling with the drivers.

Yes online payment should prevent. But the driver would still argue that he didn't receive payment blah..blah.
So best to firmly inform driver that payment is online

[itspatra]

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

These scams are always related to paying cash or UPI to the driver. I always opt for online payment as getting refund or solving issues with Uber/Ola is much better than haggling with the drivers.

Yes but these drivers literally call up before a ride and ask if the payment is on UPI/Cash. Otherwise they won't ply. They say that if it is prepaid money ( Ola Money ) they get a lesser cut than the normal. I have always paid in cash/UPI only for about a year. I don't know what would I do if this happens to me. The app would say the ride is cancelled, but the driver would demand the money.

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by itspatra

Yes but these drivers literally call up before a ride and ask if the payment is on UPI/Cash. Otherwise they won't ply. They say that if it is prepaid money ( Ola Money ) they get a lesser cut than the normal. I have always paid in cash/UPI only for about a year. I don't know what would I do if this happens to me. The app would say the ride is cancelled, but the driver would demand the money.

I have stopped taking Uber/Ola due to the hassles of payment, poor hygiene and quality of cabs.

For journeys to airport, I do the following:

1. If it's a short trip, I park my car at the airport.
2. If it's a long trip, I pre-book Shoffr or Blusmart. Both services never have a problem with online payments, drivers are polite and cars are well maintained

For short errands in the city where I am unable to drive, I book a driver via DriveU.

At any cost, I don't take an Uber/Ola. They have made the lives of their consumers miserable.

PS: I used to be a huge Uber fan and was one of their first riders in India on the day of their launch.

[SidTheChamp]

To clarify, the modus operandi of the scam exploits the following scenarios.

1) At BIAL and some other airports, you don't get a full booking in Ola/Uber at airport. You get a PIN only and once you reach the pickup area, sit in the car in queue and give the PIN. The driver should start the ride using the PIN. When the driver doesn't start the ride, you don't get the cab information in mobile app.

Note: The pickup area has been done to improve customer convenience. Prior to that, one books and waits for the cab to arrive. I for once had to wait almost half an hour for cab to arrive at BIAL in earlier days.
And no queue, often late comers may get cab first because of acceptance.


2) You get a lot of newcomers in the city from the airport. Newcomers are usually more vulnerable to scam and coercion as the driver can get aggressive without fear of repercussions.

3) And finally the payment page. While the page is designed in a way so that reading becomes easier, it's mainly static page with full green background. Only the amount gets generated.

This screen has been going for years and since the loophole has been discovered, it's high time that Ola/Uber changes the interface to show trip details including rider, from and to points, distance covered etc.
That page will take more time to load but cannot be scammed easily.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by SidTheChamp

So be careful and extra cautious when picking up rides from airport when cab is assigned last minute by Ola/Uber

Thanks for sharing. Uber and OLA are ride aggregators. They have no control over the driver that on the platform. Their services have been going down the drain over the years. Rude behaviour and Trip denials are the most common issues. That is why my wife and me have shifted to Blusmart. The drivers of blusmart are on payroll and don't own the cabs so they don't play such tricks.

[fiat_tarun]

I read about this scam, but doesn't one have to provide the PIN and ensure that the trip has been started once you get into the cab ? I have shifted from pre-paid instruments to UPI since the acceptance rate is much higher with cash, but I always ensure I pay the amount that is shown on my app.

I think users also need to ensure their role in following certain protocol to avoid getting scammed.

[condor]

I have not used these airport cabs, and dont know the process there. Hence this question:

When we normally book a Ola/Uber, and the driver enters the pin on his phone app, we get an update on our phone app that the driver has started the journey. This way we know that he has entered the pin, and hence the fare will be almost same as indicated when we book the ride.

Isnt it the same for cabs booked at the aiport ? How does it work there ?

[gischethans]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

I think users also need to ensure their role in following certain protocol to avoid getting scammed.

100% correct. Whenever I take an app-based taxi at the airport or within the city, I ensure that the ride is updated properly on my app i.e., driver details, and map display and I keep checking this during the ride. I also make it a point to keep an eye on the driver's phone - they usually have it on the dashboard showing trip details like the ETA.

[Raghuwire]

Oh my god! Thanks for this thread. Recently i went to Mumbai on an official trip. I booked an Ola for 8 hours, original fare was around 2600. The driver even told me that keep the OTP message, else we will not be able to close the trip. After sitting in the cab, I did not check the Ola app again. When I was about to Pay, he showed me the green screen with 3500. I paid him up and left. When in the evening I opened the app to download the bill for submitting to my reimbursement app, i was surprised to see, the app still saying walk to the ground floor and take the cab. When I called the driver, he said app issue. I lost my 3500 rs as I could not reimburse it. The biggest gripe is there is no way to raise the issue to Ola Customer support. there is a bot based Q&A, but there is no way to raise this issue or blacklist or do anything to the driver.

[SidTheChamp]

Originally Posted by condor

I have not used these airport cabs, and dont know the process there. Hence this question:

When we normally book a Ola/Uber, and the driver enters the pin on his phone app, we get an update on our phone app that the driver has started the journey. This way we know that he has entered the pin, and hence the fare will be almost same as indicated when we book the ride.

Isnt it the same for cabs booked at the aiport ? How does it work there ?

It works differently at Bangalore Airport. When you book a trip, you get a PIN that's all with message to go to Pick up Area.
( In normal booking, you get to see the cab and driver details once the fellow accepts it.)
When you go to the Ola/Uber pickup area, they will board you at the next cab which is in queue. You sit at the cab, provide PIN to the driver.
When the driver enters the PIN , the ride starts.

So the driver never starts the ride in this case. And gives some server issue message to the unsuspecting passenger. By that time the passenger is in middle of nowhere.
At the end of the ride when the scam occurs, the ride never shows up in the app except a cancelled notification. So the passenger never gets the driver and car details from the cab. Hence complaining gets difficult.

I've seen the same pickup area with PIN based concept being applied at Hyderabad airport. However at Mumbai airport, its still the usual way i.e book before and wait till the cab arrives.
Not sure about the other big airports

[hothatchaway]

There seems to be some confusion around how app based cabs work. The ride needs to start on the app for the whole transaction to work as intended! The least the rider needs to do is to 1) check that the driver starts the ride by entering the OTP that you MUST provide and 2) the driver must end the ride after reaching the destination for the final fare to be generated. You will also see the same amount in your app and don't have to depend on the driver to tell you the fare to be paid. In fact, I always check the amount in my app to see if the final fare is identical or similar to the initial estimate to figure out if the driver took me for a ride by taking a longer route.
The app can sometimes lag but you are within your right to wait. If the payment is cashless then this whole discussion is moot because the driver has to enter the otp and record the trip.

[9tMax]

Another easy way out is to check the app on your phone as soon as the driver starts moving and make sure that the app shows that your journey has started with the destination and the route map being displayed along with ETA.
If not, start making noise immediately.

[Raghuwire]

Originally Posted by SidTheChamp

So the passenger never gets the driver and car details from the cab. Hence complaining gets difficult.

Even in other cases, complaining is impossible. For example when the driver has not entered the pin and started the journey,the ride is not complete nor started. All you can do is say driver dint come or something. I tried for two days, and I couldn't end the trip without getting a cancellation charge and neither could I complain about the fraud or excess charge. Even after two days, Ola was saying go to P4/ ola pickup zone at airport and get the cab. Ridiculous.