A taxi client was charged for a trip she didn't take. How did that happen?
A taxi client contacted the Onliner editorial office, sharing how money was debited from her account for a service she never used. She disagreed with the company's decision and sent them a pre-court claim.
“I was sure I had canceled all orders”
— On June 29, I needed to order a taxi, and I tried to find a car through the "A1 Taxi" app because it's usually cheap there. But no cars were available, even though the price was high at that time, just like with other services. I created a new order several times. No one was found, so I canceled the last order, exited the app, and found a car with another carrier, — the woman recalls.
According to her, she had almost reached her destination in a car from another company when a taxi driver called her and asked where she was.
— I don't understand anything, I'm trying to figure it out, and it turns out my order wasn't canceled, the driver was found and arrived. I explained the situation, but the driver closed the order as completed, and 41.09 rubles were debited from my card.
The interlocutor said she called customer support, tried to explain the situation, and demanded her money back. But, according to her, they refused, citing waiting time and the cost of car delivery.
— An important circumstance: I received neither a push notification nor an SMS message that a car had been found. Otherwise, I would have canceled the order immediately, — the woman asserts.
— My initial claim was that I was not informed in any way that a car had been found. I am still sure that I canceled all orders before exiting the app.
The woman sent a claim to the company, demanding a full refund for the order. In the response letter, the company stated that disciplinary measures had been taken against the driver for violating rules. It was also reported that part of the order amount was returned to the client's account, but the cost of car delivery was withheld. The company noted that one of the orders had not been changed or canceled, which is why the driver arrived at the specified address.
— The carrier reviewed my order and returned a little over 24 rubles from the debited amount. It turned out that the car delivery and a 0 km, 1-minute route cost me 17.50 rubles. If we consider the carrier's waiting cost, it appears the driver waited for me for 27 minutes and didn't even try to call. The driver took my order at 17:56, and first contacted me at 18:24, — the interlocutor notes.
She said she wrote another letter to the company, asking them to reconsider her appeal and provided relevant arguments.
The woman also drew attention to contradictions in the order details. According to the electronic receipt, the order was received at 17:56, the trip started at 18:03, and ended at 18:26.
“However, I received the first call from the driver only at 18:24. Thus, more than 20 minutes passed between the indicated trip start time and the first contact with me,” — the client noted in the letter.
She also asked for a detailed calculation of the withheld amount — 17.50 rubles.
— The main demand is to return the entire withheld amount or to communicate with me adequately and explain why exactly this amount was withheld. On the one hand, 17.50 rubles might not seem like a lot of money. But my statement directly concerns service (and I see a lot of bad service around), and I am convinced that we create a huge number of problems for ourselves because we don't pay attention to it.
“Well, they debited this money, why should I spend my time on it,” “they provided a bad service, the coffee was cold, never mind, I’ll “eat” it, I’ll keep silent, I’ll pay.” No, I believe that where a client pays their money, the company should be responsible for the service, — the woman explained her position.
According to the interlocutor, after the response to the first claim, no other letters were received from the company. However, during the preparation of the material for publication, when an Onlíner journalist contacted the "A1 Taxi" company for a comment, the client was refunded the full order amount.
Company Comment
“For this order, the information system routinely recorded the creation of the order and the start of the car search. After the order was accepted by the driver, the client was sent an SMS message with the car's state number and an estimated arrival time. The cost of car delivery for this order amounted to 26 rubles, including the driver's paid waiting time and the high-demand period. Before the car arrived at the pickup location, the client had the opportunity to cancel the order without any charges.
After the car arrived at the pickup location and the paid waiting period began, the client contacted the driver and informed them that the trip would not take place. In such situations, the company typically adheres to clause 3.12 of the Public Agreement, as well as the provisions of clause 169 of the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus "On the Transportation of Passengers and Goods" dated March 31, 2026, No. 147, which provide for the possibility of charging for vehicle delivery in case of trip cancellation after the car has been dispatched. However, following the review of the client's request, the company, on a private basis, met her halfway and compensated the full cost of the order.”
Now reading
The Return of Kaschei, the Abolition of Rusalkas, Navie from Polotsk, Kopsha and Vegelmof. What the First Belarusian Guide for Fantasy Translators Offers 33
Comments