'He was the one who got lost': Woman accuses Grab driver of missing turn and trying to 'fleece' her

As it was late at night, Sara Teo decided to book a Grab car to get back home. 

But instead of a pleasant quiet ride, she ended up with a moody driver who made a wrong turn and an additional $5 surcharge. 

"Drivers have too much liberty to fleece us even when they screwed up," she said in a TikTok video uploaded on Sunday (Jan 8). 

Teo shared that she had booked the car at around midnight on Sunday and indicated the block number for the pick-up point. 

"I've always been picked up at my exact block and I sometimes leave a note just to help the drivers find my block," she explained. 

After she got into the car, she confirmed her destination with the driver before they headed off. 

Driving 'fast and furious'

Teo noted that the driver had been driving "fast and furious" the entire ride but she brushed it off and said she just hoped to get home in "one piece". 

"So long as you know what you're doing," said Teo in her video. 

As they were about to reach her destination, the driver missed a right turn. 

"He kind of was on the phone getting a call. And I think he got distracted, so he totally missed where we were to turn in," recounted Teo. 

However, instead of being apologetic, the driver "admitted that he got confused" and thought Teo had specified another lane number. 

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@yrworkbestie/video/7186164005889674497?_r=1&_t=8Yr9QwrK8tV&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7186164005889674497[/embed]

As the lanes were all one-way roads, the driver had to make a detour to get to Teo's destination. 

"This is when he started getting visibly annoyed," she added. 

Teo also said that she couldn't simply step out of the car and walk the distance back home because it was late at night and she was alone. 

"My place is not very safe at night," she clarified, adding that this was the whole point of her booking a Grab ride in the first place. 

Teo said that despite the blunder, she was not upset with the driver and even tried to help him navigate. 

'Pissed' driver

But on the other hand, the driver was "pissed" at her and questioned why she could not get off at the current location.  

He also asked her: "Is there any like secret smaller lane that we can take as a shortcut?"

"No uncle! How about you just turn into the correct lane in the first place," Teo exclaimed in the TikTok video. 

The nightmare didn't just end there either. 

When Teo finally reached home, she checked the price of her ride and was shocked to find that she had been charged an additional $5 surcharge "for no reason". 

When she checked this with Grab, they told her that it was because she had "been picked up slightly further from the pick-up point". 

"I literally stated clearly my pick-up point. I didn't change it or request to be picked up further," clarified Teo. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Teo and Grab for more details. 

In the comments, Teo told a netizen that she usually avoids leaving one-star ratings, but this driver may be an exception. 

She also asked if anyone else experienced a similar incident as her. And some did. 

One netizen shared that her driver had cursed at her after she told him her destination. 

Another also said that his father was charged an additional $5 even though the driver cancelled the ride. 

In another incident, a woman shared her negative experience with an unhelpful ride-hailing driver. 

The woman, who is currently on crutches, had booked a ride from her Bishan office to home as it was raining. 

When she gave her driver a "heads-up" and requested to be picked up from level three of the office carpark, the driver said he would have to charge her extra if he did so. 

When she questioned him, he replied: "Then good luck to you [because you] must be fair [to] us. How much is your fare? Is it fair for us?" 

After she reported the incident to Grab, the rider was temporarily suspended for 72 hours. 

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