A woman has allegedly been assaulted by an Amber Cars driver in a row over payment.
Suzanne Giblett, who lives in Leeds, has claimed that she used the Amber Cars app to pay for her taxi journey by card at around 7:30pm last Friday.
The taxi driver, saying that the payment had not gone through, allegedly grabbed Miss Giblett’s bag and tried to pull her back. Miss Giblett said “he tried to drag me down the stairs and said ‘You’re not going anywhere’. I was panicking and crying. Three people stopped to help. He was just shouting in my face and pointing at me.”
Amber Cars have since suspended the driver in question and launched a formal investigation into the incident. In a post on their Facebook page on Sunday, they said: “Customer and public safety is paramount to Amber Cars, hence the introduction of text back, ringback and the vehicle registration number being sent”. “You can also track your vehicle when booked via the app. This means the customer always knows whose car they are getting in, and that they don’t have to wait outside alone until they know the car is there. We transport over 200,000 passengers every week safely.”
Speaking to The Gryphon, Miss Giblett said that Amber “were very apologetic. Leeds Council…are now dealing with it and [they] also called me to say he’s been suspended and will be investigated”. “If one driver is doing things like this, they will not tolerate it. So I would use them again, but [Amber’s response] still doesn’t make me any less nervous about using taxis now!”. Miss Giblett shared her version of the incident in a post on Facebook, which has received over 10,000 ‘shares’.
A number of people have commented on the post and shared similar situations. Krystina Cole, of Leeds, described her own experience with an Amber driver on one of the post comments, saying “It was only a very short journey…the taxi driver made me feel so uncomfortable and frightened …he kept asking me for drugs and said he [was] going to stop at a shop for wine for me and him to drink alone in the car which I refused repeatedly”. “On the way back he was very persistent at not taking me back to my destination and taking me around Leeds for free. He then locked me in the taxi until I gave him my phone number. (Fake one given)”.
Miss Cole urged anyone who has experienced a similar situation to report the incidents. Upon reporting the incident to Amber Cars, she said “they were shocked and appalled…I have had 4 calls back today alone for updates [and] support…they really take every complaint seriously”.
Elli Pugh
(Image: rentautobus.com)