Man taken for a ride by ‘Ola driver’ from Mumbai airport, asked to pay inflated fare

However, when he went to the pickup area, he noticed that the registration number and cab were different from what was mentioned in the app. But when he called the driver again, he showed him that he was indeed the same person.

Since it was late at night and the queue of people waiting for cabs was long, he boarded the cab. The driver asked him the PIN to begin the ride. He claimed that the driver acted as if he was entering the PIN in the app. However, in his phone, it did not show that the ride had commenced.

The driver told him that it may be due to a network issue. But throughout the ride, the app showed that it had not commenced. The man shared that he wanted to call the police or Ola support but as he was in a stranger’s cab, he did not want to pose any danger to himself.

When they reached the destination, the driver asked for an inflated amount of money and insisted on being paid only in cash. After disembarking from the cab, the man took a photo of the car and insisted on paying him via UPI, so that there was a record of the payment made. He said that while the original sum while booking the ride was Rs 431, the driver asked for Rs 681.

“While I realise I should not have boarded the cab (given the cab number and description of cab did not match), the series of events are extremely concerning especially because drivers seem to be using the Ola app to solicit business and then taking off with people without Ola being informed,” he said in the tweet.

While the driver departed, the Ola app continued to show that the ride had not begun. However, subsequently, the app showed that he was required to pay the original fare of Rs 431.

Arriving into #Mumbai – @CSMIA_Official and looking to book a cab with @Olacabs ?
You may want to pay attention to this bizarre incident that happened to me last night. Please read on and retweet so that others are aware.
I called the Ola driver as soon as the cab was booked on… pic.twitter.com/PAH88X2yrr

— VT-VLO (@Vinamralongani) July 2, 2023

Ola Support replied to the tweet and requested him to share the CRN of this ride.

We understand how upset you must be. We are here to help. Please share the CRN of this ride and registered email ID via DM with us so that we can get this sorted for you. https://t.co/6DHSELSc7K

— Ola Support (@ola_supports) July 2, 2023

“OLA has become the Biggest Fraud is what I can say if you look at LinkedIn it looks like a complaint
portal of Ola,” commented a user. “You are expecting too much from @Olacabs they also use foul language when you call their support,” shared another.

OLA has become the Biggest Fraud is what I can say if you look at LinkedIn it looks like a complaint portal of Ola.

— VVikas Kumaarr (@flyingvikas129) July 2, 2023

You are expecting too much from @Olacabs they also use foul language when you call their support

— Ketan Patwardhan (@ketanpatwardhan) July 4, 2023

This is indeed a matter of great concern. In my previous experiences with @Olacabs, the actual driver has been different from the driver in the app for more than 5 times, that’s why I don’t use it now unless there is an emergency.

— Pawani Srivastava (@PawaniSrivasta1) July 2, 2023

“This is indeed a matter of great concern. In my previous experiences with @Olacabs, the actual driver has been different from the driver in the app for more than 5 times, that’s why I don’t use it now unless there is an emergency,” expressed another user.