Uber passenger says driver abandoned her as she was being harassed

Uber passenger, 36, says driver abandoned her by side of the road in middle of the night as she was being sexually harassed by two men – then charged her £6 anyway

• Ciranne Muir, 36, had ordered an Uber after a night at the pub on Friday night
• She claimed it arrived early and she messaged it to say she was being followed
• But when she did not get to him in time the trip was cancelled before she arrived
• It meant she was charged a £6 cancellation fee, which prompted her disbelief
• Ciranne said she felt like Uber had abandoned her in frightening situation 
• The taxi system automatically cancels jobs after eight minutes of waiting
• Uber said customers’ safety was a priority and it was investigating incident 

An Uber customer claims a driver ‘abandoned’ her by the side of the road in the middle of the night – despite her messaging him to she was being followed and being harassed.

Ciranne Muir, 36, had ordered a taxi after a night at the pub on Friday night but as she walked to her pick-up point, she claims two separate men began stalking her – catcalling at her and with one even pulling over in his car.

She claims her Uber ride home arrived early, so she messaged the driver to say she was ‘two seconds down the road’ before explaining her terrifying predicament to him in an appeal for help.

However polo horse groom Ciranne was left furious as the taxi driver allegedly cancelled her trip, leaving her frightened at 12.50am and charging her £6 ‘for the inconvenience’.

Ciranne, from Eton Wick, Berkshire, said: ‘I felt like the driver abandoned me. It’s not as if I didn’t say anything, I messaged pretty much saying ‘please help me, I’m being followed by someone, I’m on my way.’

‘As far as he knows, anything could have happened to me. It could have escalated quickly. It wasn’t just one, it was two men. It left me really annoyed.

‘I messaged on the app and he said he was there. I said I was on my way but that a guy was following me and that I was being harassed.

‘He asked where I was and I said ‘I’m on my way, I’m literally two seconds down the road’.

Ciranne Muir, 36, had ordered an Uber taxi home after a night at the pub on Friday night

She claimed it arrived early and she messaged it to say she was being followed and harassed

‘There’s no reason he couldn’t have waited, especially when I messaged him repeatedly. I wasn’t ignoring his messages and he was early anyway.’

Ciranne had left her friend and to save money, ordered an Uber from the opposite bank of the River Thames, walking less than a five-minute walk to the pick-up point.

As she walked down the road, she claims a cyclist was following her and asked where she was going, and just as she managed to shake him off, a driver pulled in next to her and called her ‘darling’.

Ciranne said: ‘It was a Friday night and I went to meet my friend. It’s £10 cheaper with Uber if you walk across the bridge into Eton, then get a taxi from Windsor.

‘This fella on a bike was shouting at me, going on. A weirdo bloke on a bike following me. He was saying ‘where are you going?’ I’d booked the Uber and I was walking quickly.

‘He started asking where I’m going and the typical crap that men say.

‘I don’t know where the bloke on the bike went, but then the next minute, a guy in a car pulled over.

‘I thought it was my Uber. They were shouting out the window ‘hi darling – looking good’. I thought ‘that’s creepy of an Uber driver’.

Ciranne said she felt like Uber had abandoned her at night in a frightening situation

Ciranne was stunned when she was charged a £6 cancellation fee for missing the Uber

‘So I crossed the road, thinking it was my Uber and went to get in the car, then I realised ‘oh God, this isn’t my Uber – it’s a random guy pulling over to follow me as well’.

‘Then I got a message through from Uber to say they cancelled, and I got charged £6, even though I messaged him a few times saying ‘look, I’m on my way, I’m being followed’.

‘A few times I said ‘I’m on my way – I’ve got a guy following me’. He didn’t address it at all. I thought he’d asked me where I was to come and get me out of the situation.

‘Luckily for me, I’m quite tall and in a difficult job, so I’m quite strong, but what if it was a smaller girl, somebody who’s quite socially anxious or younger?

‘Anything could have happened – especially because I almost got in that car thinking it was my Uber.’

After complaining repeatedly to Uber, Ciranne claims she was eventually refunded her £6, though she feels Uber should have reprimanded the driver for leaving her.

Ciranne said: ‘It took ages for Uber to get back to me and they compensated my £6.

‘Some of the drivers are lovely, but it was the way Uber handled it. The driver should have been told off about the situation.

‘They just sent me an apology template. It took them a week to get back to me.’

Uber’s booking system software automatically cancels jobs if customers do not turn up after eight minutes.

A spokeswoman said: ‘The safety of everyone who uses the Uber app is a top priority, and we are currently investigating this incident.’

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