Careem driver verbally abuses, harasses woman in Islamabad

Careem driver lied about internet connection and became verbally abusive towards passenger

A woman on Friday, reported verbal abuse and harrassment at the hands of a Careem driver in Islamabad.

Addressing Careem on Twitter, the woman revealed she was mislead by the driver into believeing there were no signals in Faizabad, her drop-off location. The woman shared how when she confronted the driver about lying, he became verbally abusive.

Not only did the driver ask for additional money to take her to her destination, he asked her to cancel the ride. Moreover, upon reaching the destination the driver harrassed the woman into paying him the extra amount he demanded.

User @bitchinblair01 questioned Careem's hiring procedure and demanded to know how the driver would be penalised.

 

@CareemPAK
THREAD
PLEASE SHARE AND RETWEET IF YOU SEE THIS ON YOUR TIMELINE
I took a ride from e11 Islamabad to faizabad at 4 :45 am as I wanted to go back to my hospital and reach on time . Driver arrived at pickup point and told me that there are no signals in faizabad due +

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

To jammers for security reasons in muharram. He said cancel the ride and I will take you there in 500 rps ( usual share is 350+) I said ok because I was getting late for my job . He made me uncomfortable throughout the way by staring at back view mirror +

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

And smiling I ignored that . When we reached there and I realised that there were no jammers and internet was working then I confronted him that why did you lie to me and he got out of control.i said I will pay you the usual share nothing extra because you +

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

Lied and he started shouting at me and said GASHTI MADARCHOD PESY NIKAL JITNE BOLY THAY . I got out of the car hoping that there are men around me so he wouldn't dare do anything, he got out of car and came so close that his body was literally touching mine+

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

And kept shouting Randi pesy nikal tu kar Kia rhi hay itni raat ko yahan pay Akeli. Yaroon say mil k aa jati hain aur phir bkwas krti hain pesy nikal , by this time my legs were shivering and there were countless men around me watching a man abuse me enjoying+

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

And laughing. Finally when he said day nhi tau doon ga ultay hath ki I gave him money and walked away . I am still in shock and my hands are shivering as I am writing this . @careempak DO YOU GUYS BOTHER TRAINING YOUR CAPTAINS AT ALL ? DO YOU GUYS CARRY+

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

OUT ANY BACKGROUND CHECKS AT ALL ? DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR SAFETY AT ALL ? FUCKING AT ALL ? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO ME ? WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO TO MAKE SURE THESE INCIDENTS DON'T HAPPEN? I AM SCARRED FOR LIFE NOW

— .... (@bitchinblair01) August 28, 2020

Many users took to their Twitter accounts and urged Careem to take appropriate action following the incident.

@CareemPAK @careem It's high time that you show transparency about the measures that are taken to ensure the safety of female passengers. "Appropriate actions" are not enough. Your employees that assault and harass MUST be reported to the law enforcement agencies.

— Salwa (@ranaslander) August 31, 2020

I'm sure most careem users are women especially young girls because we're the ones who lack the means of other forms of transport, and most careem captains are men. our safety is crucial and overlooked. you need to upgrade your security. https://t.co/9ZoKJ39pEd

— Jaafu (@tayzaab) August 31, 2020

 

Responding to the tweets, Careem issued an apology:

"We’re very sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with Careem. Your safety is very important, and we’re so sorry you had this experience. Stern action would be taken on disciplinary grounds! Can you please share your registered contact number over DM!"

We’re very sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with Careem. Your safety is very important, and we’re so sorry you had this experience. Stern action would be taken on disciplinary grounds! Can you please share your registered contact number over DM!

— Careem Pakistan (@CareemPAK) August 28, 2020

After further tweets from the user Careem added:

"We would like to inform that appropriate action has been taken against the Captain. We're keeping close tabs on any Captains who don't adhere to the rules and take necessary action accordingly. We give you a word this will be taken care of."

However, Careem did not clarify what action had been taken against the captain and instead shared a list of possible outcomes for drivers guilty of grave misconduct.

"We do realize the gravity of this situation, please know once a Captain is reported, based on the severity of the offence and keeping in view his past track record, he is penalized with being fined or being retrained, or being temporarily/permanently blocked."

We do realize the gravity of this situation, please know once a Captain is reported, based on the severity of the offence and keeping in view his past track record, he is penalized with being fined or being retrained, or being temporarily/permanently blocked.

— Careem Pakistan (@CareemPAK) August 29, 2020

 

Careem issued an official statement:

"At Careem, the safety work for our customers never stops. All our Captains undergo a verification and training process before they are on-boarded. We strongly recommend customers to ensure completion of rides on our platform, as we have in app features monitoring safety, which is not possible otherwise. Unfortunately, the final completion of this ride was done off our platform. We urge all customers for safety concerns to decline cases, where an offer of private bookings is made, as we are unable to track it on our systems.

In cases, based on our findings of the investigation and severity of the offence; the Captain is either penalised with being fined or being retrained, or being temporarily/permanently blocked. We offer full support to customers who further take legal action"