BODOH GRABCAR USER FAIL TO SEE STATED FARE, MAKES HUGE COMPLAINT AFTER EXPENSIVE TRIP

On 4/2 I tried to get a taxi through Grab's app which I had been doing on a almost weekly basis to NUH hospital. However I did not manage to get a taxi at that certain timing which is around 10+ in the morning, so the app prompted me to try Grab car instead. As this was my second time booking Grab Car, the first time fare was $24 and the uncle did prompted me the amount before setting off, I suppose that each and everytime the range should not differ that much. However, I was very wrong at the end of my second trip with Grab Car...

Upon reaching my destination at NUH from Yishun, the driver told me the fare was $43! I had the biggest shock of my life as since I take taxi to NUH on a weekly basis, even with booking & extra charge during peak hours will not cost me more than $25! This fare amount is almost equivalent to my trip through & fro from Yishun to NUH. And so, I mention to the Grabcar driver Mr Lim Sin Leng of car plate SM37B that my previous trip is only $24, why was his so expensive? He replied by saying the fares are transparent in the application and will be reflected before we click ok for the booking. My first experience of booking a grabcar I can only see a price range, when I board the car the uncle told me his fare. And this time round this driver did not tell me his fare when I board his transport! Naturally for inexperienced passengers will not know how much the fare is and shall assume that the amount should not differ that much am I right?

I actually told the driver that I will only pay $24, as I really did not see the fare of $43 reflected upon booking, and driver did not preamp first when we board his transport! However this driver insisted me to pay full, and if there's any complaints asked me to contact Grab's support the team. Of course I did not make full payment. He asked me to call Grab's support on the spot but of course I rebut that he should call since he is a driver registered under Grab. He narrated the whole incident to the cso through speakerphone regarding this fare dispute, however cso mention that fares are transparent and passenger should pay for it. During their conversation I actually looked back at the booking history then realized that the fare was really stated, in a very small size which I believe most people will overlook this amount for sure! If not who will be crazy enough to book a transport with this amount?!

I replied to the cso of my previous trip amount and also the change of version in the app, that amount was so small & was overlooked. But i will pay the fare of $24 and that's it since is a misunderstanding plus driver should have advised his fares before setting off. By the end of conversation, since I was firm on paying $24 cso replied ok and she will speak to driver in private and conversation ended. I paid driver $24 and even apologize for the misunderstanding and even asked him to contact grab company for this compensation of remaining fare. He still mentioned its ok its alright thank you, problem should be resolved to my understanding isn't it? However I was really wrong.

I received a call yesterday from an officer from Grab company, said that he's calling up to investigate this matter as driver called in to complain about this fare dispute. I was shocked because as stated above, isn't it resolved? Cso said will speak to driver, I paid the money, driver accepted and then case closed shouldn't this be the scenario that already happened? Ok fine I repeated the whole incident for the investigation, and urged the officer to go through the call log. And then get back to me with the outcome of investigation. And so he did, returned call today and mentioned that after several times of listening to the call log, that his authorities insisted that their cso did not mean that I should only pay the fare of $24 when she said speak to driver in private afterwards. I was really disappointed with the outcome as since I was really cooperative throughout with the investigation, just because of this driver feeling dissatisfied after one whole week later of this fare dispute which I felt that Grab side did not handle this matter well. They actually suspended my Grab account and advised driver to file a police report against me for this fare dispute!

I hope by sharing my story can prevent more people from falling into such unfortunate situations with Grab car. Always check the fare before setting off as not every driver will advise you on the fare beforehand. Moreover from this situation as everyone can see, when things happen, they will only suspend the passenger's account & advise driver to file police report against passenger. How helpful is this in resolving disputes? You tell me.

Regards,
Serene
A.S.S. Contributor