A young woman has warned Australians to be on the lookout for a ride-sharing “scam” after she was charged $170 for a six-minute DiDi ride.
Isabella ordered a car to take her and three friends from Richmond to Prahan after the Weeknd’s concert at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Monday night.
He woke up Tuesday morning to a message from the rideshare saying he had been charged a “severe mess” cleaning fee to the tune of $150.
‘Unfortunately, one driver’s vehicle was left a mess/damaged and required cleaning. “Based on supporting information provided by the driver, a $150 cleaning fee was assessed to help get the driver’s car clean and back on the road,” he said.
The $150 severe mess fee applies when there is a severe mess, stain or spill.
However, Isabella said that she and her friends “hadn’t done anything” of the sort.
“Please note that this is the highest rate we could have been charged,” he said.
‘…We were sober and we had no food, no drink, nothing.’
DiDi charged Melbourne music fan Isabella (pictured) almost $170 for a six-minute ride after her driver ‘unfairly’ added a $150 cleaning fee for ‘severe mess’
The starting fee was $19.36 but it skyrocketed to $169.36 once the fee was added.
Isabella has tried emailing, calling, and messaging DiDi through apps like Instagram and TikTok, but has been unable to get through.
‘I’ve been trying all day to appeal this, but the app is horrible. It won’t let me choose a specific reasoning. “It just has frequently asked questions,” he said.
“I’ve even gone as far as searching for people on LinkedIn who work for DiDi and texting them.”
Isabella added that her friend had heard the driver making fun of them while they were in the car.
“My friend speaks Hindi and he heard him say we were idiots and stuff in the car on the phone, while he was driving,” she said.
‘Like, share and be careful with DiDi.’
Several Australians said they had experienced a similar problem with the ride-sharing company and that more evidence of the “serious disaster” was needed.
‘Literally the exact same thing happened to me, it was the most infuriating thing! On top of the $150, they went the wrong way and added $25 to our $75 trip,’ one said.
‘That’s why I think all of us DiDi need internal cameras for our safety and theirs. Dash cams facing both ways should be mandatory,” wrote a second.
A third suggested: ‘Dispute it with your bank. They’ll have to show the damage, something they clearly can’t do, and it will be an easy, if frustrating, victory.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted DiDi for comment on the incident.
