This week Whine Wednesdays deals with a new kind of scam that Uber drivers in Buenos Aires are perpetrating against the company and foreign sounding clients are paying the price.
Uber works perfectly in most of South America and I really like their service all over Brazil and Chile. I had used their service in Buenos Aires previously (when it was working just fine) and was wondering why suddenly all these drivers were cancelling my rides left and right or asking weird questions such as where I was going and what payment method I was using.
It has always been a red flag if the Uber driver asks for my destination (a big no no). Nobody has ever before asked what kind of payment method I was using. As a matter of fact, most drivers in countries such as Brazil where cash payments are allowed prefer cards because they don’t like dealing with cash (no guarantee if get paid and due to security).
Previously, I had no problem getting an Uber from Ezeiza to downtown. After ten drivers had canceled on me, I decided that I need to look for another option getting to the city. Some drivers actually started the trip without being anywhere close to the pick up point but then canceled it.
Then yesterday, when I needed to get from Anselmo to the InterContinental, three drivers canceled after they had accepted the ride in a rapid speed and Uber kept assigning another driver.
At this point I was wondering, what the heck is going on with the Uber here?
Fourth driver picked me up and his English was good. I chatted with him about my recent Uber experiences and found out what the issue are.
1. Uber is still “banned” in Buenos Aires.
2. Drivers don’t need to remit Uber’s commission on cash fares at the moment because it is “illegal”.
3. Most drivers don’t pick up customers with foreign sounding names because they pay by credit cards and Uber nets the payments. They feel that they don’t get paid for these rides.
Conclusion
This is very shortsighted by the drivers. They need to pay Uber’s share eventually but I guess that they (drivers) plan to exit the system by that time and just default on their responsibilities. On the other hand, you could also argue that this is rational in a very high inflationary environment if they need to pay Uber’s share months later in devalued pesos.
Not sure why Uber just doesn’t deactivate these drivers that keep canceling rides from the customers? I have never seen this kind of behavior from Uber drivers anywhere.
On a side note, the Argentine peso has devalued close to 50% over the past month. The government has been seeking $50 billion rescue package from the IMF. There are no devaluation specials here, however. All the hotels have their prices set in USD as far as I have kept coming here due to the instability of the currency.
During the previous administration (Queen Cristina), you could always do the Dolar Blu (stacks of dollars – see the photo above from the piece that I wrote four years ago) when they tried to control the exchange rate and get 50% more on the black market. Not anymore.
Lol do you have any idea about the crash of the Argentine Peso? Doubtless the suffering Argentinans could care less about these whines … they are desperately trying to survive ATM
From the piece above: “On a side note, the Argentine peso has devalued close to 50% over the past month.”
Good to know in advance of my upcoming trip to BA. I wonder if Lyft riders are experiencing something similar.
I believe Lyft only operates in the US and in Toronto.
good to know. From and to the airport, you can also use the same remis and get fair prices, . This is what i do when i go there and when I lived there. Uber in the city, sometimes – but what happens again to the pesos is terrible for the people.
It is not the first devaluation of the peso.
Indeed , but its usually more of an ongoing process unfortunately. What happened recently has been pretty brutal 🙂 thx for the uber update, ill be careful next time
So who to use then from EZE to downtown?
Regular cab would have been 800 ARS ($20). None were available.
or just… anselmo to intercontinental is super close aka short ride ?
Would have walked without the bag.
Simple…DO NOT use Uber….the number of crimes scares the hell out of most people….if you want to trust your life there then go ahead
I didnt have problems using uber to and from EZE to the city. But I paid in cash. Living in BA it has always been the safest way to move and also cheaper than a regular taxi.
Heading there in Nov. Any suggestions where to get some cash? Usually use my credit cards but will need some cash. I am Canadian so only have Cdn funds in my bank account.
Going to write about this issue too. Credit cards are widely accepted but ATM withdrawal limits are tiny and come with extremely high ATM fees. If you need ARS, bring $50 or $100 notes and exchange locally.
Same poor behaviour from Uber drivers in London. They keep cancelling clients in busy places, times of the day to create a fake high demand and drive the surge up. They keep calling and asking where you’re going and then they hung up the phone and cancel the client if you’re not lucky enough to not go where they want to! When they call me after they accepted my route , I first tell them that I kept a screenshot with their details and I threaten them of reporting then to Uber if they cancel me (which I do anyway after the end of the route). It is a quite effective strategy however not a pleasant experience in your day. They created a bad etiquette in London but they don’t seem to care. Uber keeps taking their side when I report them and make the clients look like monsters with unrealistic expectations. In the end of the day I don’t understand why the client gets to pay a cancellation fee and the drivers do not
Just seen this post. As someone who lives in Argentina and having some close friends as uber drivers, i can confir/deny some things.
First of all, Uber has not been legally legislated, so taxi companies (who have a really bully union) have move forward to make it as hard as possible for Uber to stay here.
1) Credit cards issued in local banks are a no-go. Both Visa and Mastercard (as i know of since i dont own amex) issued from banks in argentina are declined for uber. The only payment method is cash.
2) Uber drivers dont have any way to pay Uber. Uber has not initiated ANYTHING (bank account to deposit, local office to go, not even a local call center) that enables the driver to pay the commision.
3) Since the 25% commision IS still enabled (albeit not properly integrated to be paid off), each ride generates both profit and commision. But, since 99.9% of rides are payed in cash (check point 1), and since Uber is not giving drivers a way to pay those commisions (see point 2), the negative keeps rising. Some drivers already have hundreds if not thousand of dollars in negative because they dont have any way at all to pay Uber.
Im sorry to all foreigners, really. My best advice is to get argentinian pesos and use that.