Uber driver’s racist slur caught on tape; How to spot NFT scams: CBC’s

Uber driver’s racist slur caught on video after passengers refuse to end trip early

It was supposed to be a fun night out, but the Uber ride to get there turned ugly when the driver hurled a racial slur at Helin Turk’s friend, who’s Black — calling him the N-word.

“I was shocked,” the Toronto university student told Go Public. “I was saying, ‘How can you even say that?’ Then he told me to shut up when I was defending my friend.”

Turk, 22, complained and sent Uber the video, then repeatedly followed up — asking what the company was doing about it and whether the driver was still with the ride-hailing company.

But instead of answers, she got charged $282 on her credit card for damage allegedly done to the driver’s car.

“It doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I didn’t damage a [side] mirror, and it’s ridiculous to charge me out of the blue like that two weeks later.” 

WATCH | Racial slur followed by $282 bill: (Warning: Video contains the N-word) 

Insulted by a driver, then billed by Uber | Go Public

A Toronto woman complains to Uber after one of its drivers is caught on video uttering a racial slur. But instead of saying what it did about the driver, Uber charged her hundreds of dollars for damage she says she didn’t do. (Warning: Video contains N-word) 2:28

This isn’t the first time Uber passengers have complained about racism, either.

In 2016, a Toronto woman said an Uber driver assaulted her and was being racist when he told her Pakistani Muslim women should “just keep quiet.'”

Then in 2020, again in Toronto, a Black passenger said she was called the N-word by an Uber driver, and called on the company to do more to address anti-Black racism.

On its website, Uber has a detailed zero-tolerance policy on racism and discrimination. It says customer support agents get special training on handling cases like this. It also says it’s made its reporting system easier.

But it was only when Go Public contacted Uber directly that Turk began to get some answers from the company. 

Uber told Go Public it “does not tolerate any form of racism,” and that the driver was suspended from the app as soon as it heard about the incident, saying it then completed an investigation “following a review of the full, unedited version of the video by our specialized safety team.”

When asked why Uber charged Turk for the mirror damage, the company didn’t respond, but did agree to refund the $282 charge after Go Public reached out.

Meanwhile, it’s still unclear if the driver has been suspended from the ride-sharing service permanently. Read more

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