Elderly couple with Christmas ham rejected from Uber driver due to religious beliefs
A woman says she thought a Muslim Uber driver “was kidding” when he refused a fare because her husband was carrying a Christmas ham the retired couple had won in a Seaford RSL raffle. But she wasn’t laughing when he then charged them $10.
Inner South
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A retired couple would be able to take legal action against an Uber driver who rejected them because they had a Christmas ham under proposed federal religious discrimination laws.
A spokesman for Attorney-General Christian Porter said Marion Archibald, 66, and her husband Peter, 76, would have an avenue to act against the driver for refusing to take them home from a Seaford RSL sub-branch on Tuesday night.
The couple ordered the Uber about 10pm after picking up the Bertocchi ham they’d won in a raffle.
But when the ride-share driver saw Mr Archibald holding the prize, he refused to let them in the car.
Ms Archibald said the driver — who has a 4.93 star rating and votes for “excellent” service on his driver’s profile — told them he was Muslim and therefore couldn’t allow the ham.
And the furious grandparents were charged a $10 cancellation fee despite being refused the six-minute ride.
“Peter had the ham in his hands … we walked over to the car to put it in the boot,” she told The Leader.
“(The driver said) Oh no, what’s that … he said he was Muslim.
“He said we couldn’t get in … I thought he was kidding.”
The couple were stranded at the venue before a kind RSL committee member offered to take them home.
Uber has refunded Ms Archibald the cancellation fee but the couple confirmed they will pick another rideshare app in the future.
“He shouldn’t have left us there … he could have at least called someone else for us,” she said.
“There will be plenty of people carrying hams in Uber rides this Christmas.
“We’ve all got different beliefs but this is ridiculous.”
Mr Porter’s spokesman said the Archibalds would be able to take action against the driver under proposed changes to the Religious Discrimination Bill.
“Based on the circumstances described, the driver is refusing to provide a service because the passenger is not adhering to a particular religious practice,” the spokesman said.
“Under the proposed Bill that would be discriminatory.”
According to Uber’s non-discrimination policy, drivers cannot refuse to provide or accept services based on characteristics including race, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.
“Any user found to have violated this prohibition will lose access to the Uber platform,” the website reads.
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Uber did not answer the Leader’s questions about the driver’s behaviour or whether any action would be taken against him.
“We encourage riders to report any concerns through the Help section of the app, including any issues around cancellation fees,” a spokeswoman said.
“Our 24/7 support team is available to look into these issues and help resolve them.”