M’sia Uber Driver Refuses to Return Lost Phone Until Rider Pays RM300

So glad you made it past Monday. To help you to get past the rest of the week, we have a horror story involving Uber.

Image: craveonline.com

Damn, that’s one creepy photo but not that kind of horror though. It’s the kind of horror when you gasp not knowing what to do after losing your phone.

Alvin Teo, who took it to a Facebook public group, 甲洞人, after someone he knows was asked to pay extra charges in order for the phone to be returned.

This incident happened in Malaysia. (If this was in Singapore, I think the Uber driver would have already lost his job. Malaysia boleh mah.)

So for those who want to see drama. Here it is. For the sake of this article, we shall call this person who misplaced his phone, Suay (since he’s really quite suay).

Suay took an Uber XL ride on 10 February, 8.49pm that cost him RM18.23.

Image: worldofbuzz.com

After he left, he realized that he left his phone in the Uber driver’s car and quickly messaged him to return it back to him. Based on the screenshot, Suay can be seen saying, “cannot unlock, cannot sell and cannot use, please give back to me, I can give you money”.

Image: Facebook

But instead of being nice, the Uber driver replied: “This phone may be very important for you but not important for me.”

While it makes sense for him to say that it’s Suay’s fault for misplacing his phone, his ultimate aim is really to get some money out of him.

He said, “How much you willing to pay me to return your phone?”

Then the bargain session started. He said if it’s just RM100, Suay can just forget it because it’s not worth it for him to return it back and he doesn’t want to waste his time. And he threatened to just throw it into the bin.

But this Suay, has a good temper. Instead of raging, he made an open offer to the Uber driver, asking him how much he wants. So the Uber driver said he will send it to Suay at a price of RM200.

Then maybe this Uber driver was eating his Nasi Lemak and had this thought in his mind: “Should have asked for RM300 mah. Like that, can lepak one corner don’t need to drive Uber for 2 days.”

And that’s what he eventually did. He fulfilled his promise by sending the phone back to Suay but demanded RM300 from him instead of the agreed sum of RM200 previously.

Alvin’s post on the public group has since garnered over 100 comments and 1.2K shares at the time of writing. Many are asking Suay to report it to Uber.

Image: Facebook.com
Image: Facebook.com

 

But there are a couple of netizens who sided with the driver. Like this guy:

Image: Facebook.com

So this netizen is claiming that there’s nothing wrong with the Uber driver’s request for a sum of money. He even adds that “the amount he demand(s) is not so big amount”, urging Suay to “pay and move on”.

So we had a long thread of back and forth with several other netizens inputting their opinions. But ultimately, this netizen made the most sense.

Image: Facebook.com

It’s true that one can say anything one likes since you’re not the victim.

I went over to Uber’s website to check the steps to reclaim a lost item. Here’s what Uber advises us:

The best way to retrieve an item you may have left in a vehicle is to call the driver. Here’s how:

1. Scroll down and enter the phone number you would like to be contacted at. Tap submit

If you lost your personal phone, enter a friend’s phone number instead. 

2. We’ll call the number you enter to connect you directly with your driver’s mobile number. 

If your driver picks up and confirms that your item has been found, coordinate a mutually convenient time and place to meet for its return to you. 

If your driver doesn’t pick up, leave a detailed voicemail describing your item and the best way to contact you. 

Please be considerate that your driver’s personal schedule will be affected by taking time out to return your item to you.

Drivers are independent contractors. Neither Uber nor drivers are responsible for the items left in a vehicle after a trip ends. We’re here to help, but cannot guarantee that a driver has your item or can immediately deliver it to you.

But in Suay’s case, he has the evidence that his Uber driver has the phone and is demanding an extra fee. So technically, favor is on his side.

But then again, this kind of thing is very debatable, so best to make it a practice to check twice or thrice before you leave ANY vehicle.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Always quarrel with your bae? Then you need to watch this video and learn this trick on how to resolve arguments without any compromise or apology (and also subscribe to Goody Feed YouTube channel):

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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Featured image: Facebook / World Of Buzz