Ola driver suspended after passenger claims he was abused, overcharged
What's the story
An Ola driver has been suspended after a passenger claimed that he was abused and asked to pay extra money. In a post on X, the passenger, Pawan Kumar, claimed that the driver insisted the fare quoted by the app was incorrect and threatened to detain him until he paid more. "I booked a ride from Brookfield to Kormangala with a stop at Mahadevpura. The app quoted ₹292, but when I reached my destination, the driver demanded ₹455," Kumar wrote.
Police involvement
Police intervention leads to compromise, continued threats
Kumar went on to say that when he refused to pay the inflated fare, the driver allegedly became aggressive and used abusive language. He then called the police and recorded the incident. He stated, "When the cops arrived, they spoke in Kannada with the driver, who changed his story and claimed he was using the meter." "The police then asked me to pay the amount but I denied," he wrote.
Official response
Ola, Bengaluru City Police respond to Kumar's complaint
After he refused, the police asked him to pay $350, saying the driver is poor, and requested him to delete the recording too. Following Kumar's online post, both Ola and the Bengaluru City Police responded. Ola requested more details about his ride to investigate further, while the police asked for his contact details. In a later update, Kumar revealed that Ola had suspended the driver who admitted his mistake. The company also refunded the extra money he had paid.
Twitter Post
Read the post here
I had a terrible experience today with an @Olacabs auto. I booked a ride from Brookfield to Kormangala with a stop at Mahadevpura. The app quoted ₹292, but when I reached my destination, the driver demanded ₹455. He insisted the app was wrong and threatened to hold me until I… pic.twitter.com/QZ7GkpoZoJ
— Pawan Kumar (@imthepk) July 30, 2024