Uber said it has “deactivated” a driver after the ride-share company acknowledge the driver was involved in a “frustrating and unusual situation” with a Chicago rider this week.
Gia Favia said she was leaving a bank near Milwaukee and Ashland avenues in the city’s Wicker Park neighborhood when she ordered an Uber to pick her up.
“I get in, say hello, everything is fine,” she said. “He said ‘Can you put in your address for me?’ Since it was only one turn I said, ‘I’ll just tell you where to turn.’”
The trip was from Milwaukee Avenue to Chicago Avenue, a little more than a mile long, but Favia said the Uber driver thought the ride would cost much more than it did.
“I asked him to press stop, he refused because he said, ‘You didn’t put in your address, you owe me money for this fare,’” she said. “He locked the doors and he said you’re not getting out until you give me money.”
Favia said she was locked in the back seat of the Chrysler Sebring with no way to unlock the doors on her own.
“Your first instinct is, ‘Is this a joke? Let me out of the car’ and he just refused,” Favia said. “I was getting to the point I was going to kick out the windows.”
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Favia said she refused to give the driver more money and called police on her phone.
“Instantly he said ‘fine’ and let me out,” she said.
Favia claimed the driver then followed her to the end of the block, shouting threats at her. She reported the incident on the app and posted what happened to social media.
Uber said in a statement Thursday the driver has been deactivated and the company has refunded Favia’s account.
“This was a frustrating and unusual situation,” the statement read. “Given that all payments with Uber are cashless, this driver acted in violation of our terms of service and has since been deactivated. We also refunded the rider's account. With Uber, every ride is tracked with GPS in real time and all riders and drivers rate each other after the trip in order to create the most high quality experience possible. We monitor feedback 24/7 and take swift action should any issues occur."
Uber recommends riders who have problems with a driver or a ride give feedback before booking or accepting another ride. The company added that if something happens while in a car, riders can contact Uber’s customer support staff at any time.
The City of Chicago's Business Affairs and Consumer Protection department said "the safety of passengers, drivers and the public is our top priority."
"Immediately upon learning of this incident we reached out to the company and we are in the process of receiving more information," the statement continued. "BACP has zero tolerance for any threat to public safety. Anyone who feels their safety is threatened should call 911 immediately and file a police report."
“I just hope he can’t do this to anybody else,” Favia said.
