Did I handle this situation wrong with a Lyft driver? My husband thinks so

I’ve been using Lyft for 4 years with very few real issues until now. My rating was almost perfect. Anyways, this driver got the wrong address & drove me home instead of where I needed to be. I was sure that I gave him the right address. My car was in a hospital parking lot. I knew something was wrong when he drove on the freeway.

I told him the address is wrong & to please take the nearest exit. He ignored me at first & then kept saying something about the app. He wasn’t listening to me at all.

He barely understood English. I told him to please stop & he said that he couldn’t pull over on the freeway. I obviously didn’t mean to stop on the freeway. I told him the correct address then he finally gave me his phone & I put it down.

Instead of correcting his mistake, he stopped on the shoulder before exiting the exit. I asked him to stop somewhere safer. So thankfully he went off the exit & told me to get out.

I was upset obviously. I said I’d report him. He canceled the ride. I wasn’t charged anything. So later I got a message from the Lyft app telling me that my account has been permanently banned & that my husband’s account was permanently banned as well which was weird. The card on file is his btw. I was able to get one last ride to my car before my account was banned fortunately.

I called Lyft to explain things to them. They refused to say much other than I suppose ldly ‘assaulted’ that lying jerk with a weapon!

I didn’t have any weapon on me. Even my husband who always blames me for everything said it’s b.s as no police were involved.

He told me that guy obviously wanted to get back at me for saying that I’d report him. And he said that I was endangering his safety by asking him to drive dangerously! Ridiculous! I didn’t make him stop at the shoulder. I asked him to take the nearest exit & stop so that I could give him the right address.

Common sense would dictate that. He kept saying the app, the app. He was very stubborn & determined to take me only to the adress he had for whatever reason. He said his English was regular too, so he was obviously confused. Still, he could’ve used common sense.

Why? In the past other drivers would correct an incorrect address. My husband thinks that I started a ‘war’ by threatening’ to report him.

I thought that I had a right to report drivers to Lyft. This warranted a report. I’m not petty. I never reported drivers for having a stinky car for example.

Anyways, they refused to listen to my husband or I. My husband got mad at me. I did nothing wrong! He thinks that I should’ve said nothing & then just end up getting another driver then contact Lyft for a refund for the incorrect & rude drop off.

What would you have done in this situation? Did I handle this situation wrong? This guy overeacted & obviously lied about things. Hopefully he’ll end up lying to often & end up getting fired. People like him shouldn’t be driving anyone. He’s obviously not a smart or a safe driver.

My husband then added insult to injury by saying that I should limit contact with other people & not go out as I tend to make a bad situation worse & that I don’t have any communication skills! Wth? Ugh!

Hopefully Uber will ne much better. Be careful when taking Lyft as they might do the same thing to you too as thet can afford to loose a few customers here & there.

I don’t understand why they automatically took the drivers side. Weird! And to ban my husband who wasn’t even there too is ridiculous!

I never used Lyft. I use Uber when travel, which is different cities/states/countries. Never any issues.

I recently used Uber on my location because my car was at a dealer and my husband and I had conflicting schedules and could not share a car. No issues. One time driver took a route that I don’t normally take, which I commented on. He asked if I’d like to switch to a different route, I told him it’s ok to stay on the route because I wanted to see if that route is better for my future use. That’s about it. Typically Uber drivers are excellent

I don’t know why this guy behaved that way and why you were banned after just one time. Did you have other bad reviews? I find it strange they said you had a weapon but they didn’t call the police. Is there a corporate number you can call? I’d not want such false accusation on my record.

PS how did he know where your home was if the address was the hospital? I see if he took you to the wrong address (like mixed up streets or similar sounding ones etc), but driving you home not knowing where you live is bizarre. How did that happen?

Lucky you. Apparently I was blocked as all I got was an automated message. I only found one number. How do I know if this false accusation is on my record?

Can I call the police for them to investigate this false claim or not? I assume that nothing is on my record as no police wete involved & no police report was filed as far as I know.

That guy drove unsafely & was obviously expecting ME to get out on the shoulder! I insisted that he drop me off past the exit! What a weirdo! When I said to stop & exit, I didn’t mean there! Ugh!

I bet he knew that he might’ve gotten in trouble for that so he made up an outrageous lie knowing that Lyft wouldn’t even bother questioning me if it was for a serious offense.

They should have cameras in the vehicles so it’s recorded who said what

True. I’d never do anything like that! I had NO weapon & the closest that I came to touching him was when I entered my address in the phone that he gave me.

The police can’t do anything. No police report was filed. I checked. He could’ve gotten in trouble for lying & he knew it. It would’ve been a misdemeanor that could result in 6 months in jail here. He knew that Lyft would believe him for some reason.

I looked up on quora and saw a suggestion that if you are in a lift or Uber and driver is going wrong direction but when asked to exit and pull over etc, he refuses, you could call 911 as you don’t know if it’s an abduction.

Great idea. I first thought that actually! That guy was weird!

He refused to listen to me at first until I panicked! He then said the app, the app.

You should not have made a scene or threatened the driver. Just remain calm and called Lyft after he dropped you off to report the err. Just don’t engage in altercation with people.

I panicked because he refused to listen to me & change the address. I have bad anxiety. I can’t help it. I didn’t understand why he didn’t just change the address.

He kept on driving. It’s ti late to do anything now. It’s not exactly my fault though.

He should’ve stopped somewhere safely & asked me for the right address. He acted inappropriately.

I told him nicely numerous times that he was going the wrong way & to change the address & he refused to change it at first & just said the app, the app.

I did not threaten him btw. I did NOT assault him. I only said I’d report him.

I wonder if he was saying something about “the app” meaning you have to change it on the app? He couldn’t exactly change it while driving. Not sure why he couldn’t just explain to you that he’ll change it when he finds place to stop. Of course it’s an issue if he doesn’t speak English

Maybe that’s what he was trying to say. That makes sense now. You’re pretty smart & insightful!

You’re right, maybe he didn’t know how to explain that. They should hire drivers who speak basic English to avoid these misunderstandings.

I forgot to ask, why did that jerk lie about me assaulting him with a weapon? Lyft didn’t give us any details. I’m assuming the ‘weapon’ was the phone HE gave me to input the address in. lol 😆

I didn’t shove it or even touch him. I handled it normally. Was it payback for telling him that I was going to report him?

Driving Uber or taxi is a common job among immigrants. They don’t really have to converse much. As long as they understand directions, they usually are fine. I don’t think it’s the kind of job where you need to meet language requirements. I don’t see how imposing that language mastery demand would work. Random people drive Uber.

I think you just had a bad luck with mutual misunderstanding

That’s true. Still, badic English should be required to get hired to make things easier for the customers. This probably wouldn’t have happened if he was able to understand me.

No one is going to give them English test. You should be able to drive and pass background check. That’s it. I am sure he spoke enough to tell them he wants to be Uber driver. These aren’t professional drivers. If you want professional service, hire taxi from reputable taxi cab companies like the ones drive from airports.

I’d gladly pay more money for an English speaking driver. Anyways, why would that guy falsely accuse me of attacking him when I did no such thing?

The only logical thing I can think of is that he lied to get back at me for telling him that I was going to report him for unsafe driving. He dripped me off on the shoulder of an exit.

What do you think?

You said he first stopped at the shoulder but then drove off the exit to let you out. So was it still on the shoulder? I have no idea why he said what he said. Maybe he felt threatened. They do get a lot of abuse from customers. There’s no way to know really what he was thinking. If you were frantic and panicking, maybe he felt threatened. Who knows

I don’t know if you could request English proficient driver. Also who is going to determine level of proficiency? What sounds like a terrible English to you might sound just fine to me. This is a country of immigrants.

Have you figured out how or why he started going in the wrong direction to begin with? That info might be in their emails to you.

If you can figure that out, and take responsibility and apologize to the company and the driver for anything you might have done or gotten wrong, that might help you get reinstated on the app.

But it would first take figuring out what went wrong. I use Lyft once a month or more, often for a round trip, which is tricky to request. I have an address called Home to help me enter it simply.

This could be your first step on the righteous road.

He stopped on the shoulder before the exit which was bizarre. He barely spoke English. I did not threaten him. All I said was that I’d report him.

He barely understood me & all he could say mostly was the app, the app & get out. I can’t stop too. Ugh!

He lied because he didn’t want to get into any trouble for unsafe driving. What kind of idiot drops some one on the shoulder? Ugh!