Uber passengers take to social media to warn others of a ‘scam’ at Melbourne Airport

Angry travellers have warned of a “scam” involving Uber bookings at Melbourne Airport. See how to avoid being ripped off.

Travellers have posted a warning on social media after catching Ubers from Melbourne Airport.

Disgruntled travellers have taken to social media to warn others of an alleged “scam” when catching an Uber from Melbourne Airport.

Posting on Reddit, a user detailed their experience catching an Uber from the pick-up rank (zone B) using the six-digit PIN method.

The pick-up zone referenced in the post is located on a shared road at the airport, used by Uber, Skybus and Taxis. This is unlike other airports such as Sydney, which has a boom gate that Uber drivers have to pass through.

And unlike the regular Uber service – which provides the driver’s name, licence plate and make of the car ahead of the ride – riders at Melbourne Airport are instead provided a code which they give to the first available driver.

Melbourne Airport is the only Australian airport that uses the six-digit PIN.

The weary traveller said they got into the Uber and began reading out the code, but the driver said it wasn’t working because the “Uber driver app had been having issues”.

Instead, the driver said there was a way he could just track the ride and do the payment.

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“Into the ride I started asking how it works and it quickly became apparent the app didn’t do that, I had to use eftpos, and he was BS’ing me,” the rider wrote.

“When it came time to pay I went through it with him to make sure it wasn’t a total scam; he ends up charging me through Square for an amount a few dollars higher than my Uber pre-ride estimate, and the transaction on my banking app shows a local mini-cab operation.”

Other users echoed the original poster’s experience in the comments, detailing their own run-ins with dodgy drivers.

“I had a horrific experience with airport Uber,” another Reddit user wrote.

“He took off before getting my code, and then cracked the sh--s because he was an UberX rather than Uber,” they said.

The rider said they were happy to be dropped off to re-book however the driver said no and instead told the passenger to use PayID to pay him and locked the doors.

“At this point I’m trying to keep my cool because my 12-year-old is (obviously) terrified, and I tell him to let us out of the f---ing car.

“He sped through a red light, dropped us at a taxi rank, and sped off again. I didn’t get his plate number because I was just trying to keep it together, and since he didn’t accept my booking code I have no record on my app to report him,” the user said.

An Uber spokesman said riders always need to verify driver details before starting the trip. Picture: Jason Edwards

An Uber spokesperson said riders always need to verify driver details before starting the trip.

“We encourage riders not to enter a vehicle without verifying it beforehand with the details provided in the app – whether that’s the driver photo, number plate and vehicle type on normal trips, or with the six digit PIN code at Melbourne Airport.

“If the driver doesn’t match the details provided, we encourage riders to report it to Uber’s on-the-ground team at Melbourne Airport, to the airport security team or via the help section in the Uber app so that action can be taken as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.

Another Reddit user who’d experienced a similar “scam” situation said they’d make sure to get the driver to enter the PIN before getting in the car next time.

“(But) this system seems completely flawed – nobody can be expected to know that they need to have the PIN verified before they jump in the car,” they said.

“The person directing passengers to their Ubers should insist on this.”

Former upper house MP and transport advocate Rod Barton told the Herald Sun he heard of various complaints against the rideshare company in recent weeks.

“We certainly know there’s shifty stuff going on,” Mr Barton said.

“They’re doing the wrong thing but all these drivers are struggling to make a quid; there’s an oversaturation of the market and these people are just trying to survive, and they’re doing whatever they can to survive.”

The Uber PIN service is live at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 between the hours of 7am and 11pm on weekdays, and for reduced hours on weekends. Outside of these hours, and for other vehicle options, trips are requested in the usual manner.