Back row seats faulty, Tada driver says after family of 5 complain they were booted out of 6-seater car

Back row seats faulty, Tada driver says after family of 5 complain they were booted out of 6-seater car
PHOTO: Facebook/Shawn Fish, The New Paper

Would you pay for a service that was not provided?

A man aired his grievances on social media after he was asked to make payment after he and his family were booted out of their Tada ride at AMK Hub on Tuesday (May 30) night.

Shawn Teo, 39, told AsiaOne that he had booked an Economy Large car for five passengers — himself, his pregnant wife, two daughters and his brother — which he indicated in the ride-hailing app's notes. 

When a six-seater car showed up at the pick-up location, Teo thought all was well.

But he was wrong. 

As his family was figuring out how to put up the back seat of the car, the driver asked how many passengers there were. 

When he learnt there were five passengers, the driver said his car can only seat a maximum of four people. 

"I asked him whether he wants to drive us or not, he said no and asked us to get off his car," Teo recounted. 

He then used his wife's phone to book another ride. 

However, both the rider and the driver did not cancel the Tada booking, though Teo had assumed the driver had done so. 

And as he had opted for QR payment for the ride, Teo also thought that he did not need to make payment as he was not ferried to his destination.

"We didn't cancel the booking as we did not reject the ride, I am not too sure why [the driver] didn't cancel," he said. 

Payment for a ride that didn't happen 

Teo only realised something was amiss hours later after he received a notification from Tada asking him to make payment. 

"Why should I make payment when I didn't take the ride?" he asked. 

Teo contacted Tada's customer service the next morning and a staff told him she would escalate the matter.

He also called another two customer service staff for help but was told that his call could not be transferred back to the customer service officer he first spoke with. 

Later on, Teo received an email from Tada, informing him that the team was reviewing the details of his feedback "to determine the appropriate course of action". 

As a gesture of goodwill, Teo was issued a personalised voucher.

"I must say, I am not hard up on the voucher thing. I can't be bought [off] using a voucher. I am looking at service quality," Teo told AsiaOne. 

Back row seats were faulty: Tada 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, a Tada spokesperson said that they've contacted both the rider and driver involved in the incident.

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The driver explained to Tada that the seats in the last row of his car were faulty and hence, he was unable to safely accommodate five passengers. 

Tada said it has "taken immediate action" and re-designated the driver's vehicle to serve only passengers requesting rides that accommodate no more than four passengers.

"We fully acknowledge and understand the frustration that arises when a ride cannot proceed as expected, especially when the correct product type has been booked and additional clarification has been requested," said Tada. 

"We deeply regret this incident and have initiated further service recovery efforts for the rider in question." 

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melissateo@asiaone.com

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