According to some recent claims Careem was accused of charging its customers with thousands of Rupees for a single ride. This problem has been faced for those who had their bank cards attached to the Careem account.
By Sayyed Shehzer Abbas
Multiple individuals using Careem application claimed that their fare was charged in random global currencies. In response to the problem, Careem replied,
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused. The amount was charged in a different currency due to a configuration error. It has been rectified immediately. Please be assured that reimbursement will be made as per banking procedures. Please feel free to reach out for further clarity.”
Bloomberg journalist, Faseeh Mangi, claims that his account was charged in UAE Dirhams, Kuwaiti Dinar and Dollars so international transaction fee was also charged. Careem’s reply does not explain if the transaction fee will also be refunded. The additional charges do not show up on the Careem application, but it was mentioned in bank statements and alerts. Neither is Careem reaching out to people, so users are advised to check their bank statements.
Careem call this issue as a configuration error but according to a journalist at Reuters, Gibran Peshmimam, this has not happened for the first time. Replying to Faisal’s tweet Gibran said,
“A few years ago, they charged me 56K for a ride from II Chundrigar to DHA, which took 15 mins. There was back and forth for months and I only got my money back after contacting the CEO type guy at that time.”
Similar claims have been made by other customers too and there is still no news of customers getting their refunds. Careem being a trusted ride hailing app needs to improve its customer service. Cyber risks are real and potentially devastating. Cyber security is the compelling area for countries, companies, and investors. With such technical malfunctions, people are forced to not rely on the digitization of the world.