Uber Scam In Brazil (Drivers Have Challenges Ending Trips)

Couple of weeks ago, I wrote about challenges trying to use Uber in Argentina (read more here) where it is close to impossible as a foreigner.

I have run into another scam now in Brazil where drivers seems to have “challenges” ending the trip when you exit the car and may leave the “meter” running for hours and I guess hoping that you won’t request fare review afterwards.

The other week when I took Uber from Guarulhos to Hilton, the driver never ended the trip after dropping me off. I canceled the trip and requested fare review. The first reply came back in Portuguese that they don’t provide service in English (or whatever). Had to reply couple of more times to get over charge refunded.

This week in Rio de Janeiro, took an Uber from Centro to Hilton Barra the driver didn’t end up ride either. I decided NOT to cancel the ride this time and to see when the driver would do it and if he would fix it by himself.

When I woke up in the morning, there was an Uber receipt waiting in my inbox that I had been riding all over Rio de Janeiro for four hours and ended the trip in Nova Iguacu.

There is no easy way to request fare review when in Brazil because it won’t allow you to add any comments. I guess that theoretically someone could have wanted to take a tour of Rio’s neighborhoods in the middle of the night.

Conclusion

Did the driver really think that I wouldn’t request Uber to fix the fare, however cumbersome the process might be? Does Uber really no longer care about driver quality at all when they have these scammers on the platform?

I really like the service but they really should pay more attention to the overall user experience including these responses coming from the customer service.