Montreal woman says she was scammed by driver posing as Uber at Trudeau Airport
A woman says she was the victim of a scheme at Montreal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, claiming she was misled by someone posing as her ride-share driver.
After landing at Trudeau Airport last weekend, Lindsay Myers ordered an Uber to return home to Pointe-Saint-Charles and headed to the designated pick-up zone.
'It kept saying, 'I'm trying to find a car.' It was trying to find a car for the longest time. And I was saying okay,' she explained.
The Uber app didn't find a driver but gave her a PIN number that matched the passenger and the car. An airport employee then directed her to a waiting car.
'And I was like, okay, but how do I know that that's my car?' Once in the car, the driver took off.
'He had no idea where I was going. So, the first thing that happened was he was opening up his phone and he said, 'the Uber application is not working. It's broken. So, we're just going to forget that,'' she said.
Myers typed her address, expecting she would pay the standard $41 flat fee for a downtown ride. She said she let her guard down because the driver was friendly.
'Because he was a nice guy. He was chatty with me,' Myers noted. But after reaching her destination, the driver had a surprise for her.
'And he pointed to it. He said, 'by the way, that's the taxi fare, $55.''
She said she assumed she was with an Uber driver, but it turns out he was a taxi driver and charged her the higher flat fee of $55. Myers even added a $5 tip and paid with her debit card.
'At home I checked and it said $115.60. And I said, 'What on earth happened?' And so I immediately knew that he had overcharged me,' Myers said.
CTV News contacted Trudeau Airport, which said it was surprised by the incident. To reduce attempted scams and illegal drivers, the airport only accepts a limited number of taxis with specific permission to serve the airport.
There's also a second Uber line where employees make sure passengers get into the right car. However, in a statement, the airport said that passengers have to take basic precautions.
'Travellers using Uber must make sure that the car and the driver match what the app says.'
CTV News contacted Uber, and it confirmed that it uses PIN numbers that guarantee the driver can be traced, regardless of the circumstances.
The airport authority says it's not impossible that rogue drivers still find a way to circumvent the system. When illegal drivers are caught, they face a $5,000 fine.
Except Myers says, she doesn't know the identity of her driver. Luckily, she was able to get a chargeback for the unauthorized amount she paid.
Myers is now warning other passengers to be wary next time they take a taxi or an Uber from the airport.
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