We watched our Uber drive away with our suitcase in the boot in Málaga, Spain. Uber says the driver “couldn’t find it”. How does a pink 20kg suitcase just disappear ?
On our trip to Málaga, my boyfriend and I took an Uber that turned into an absolute nightmare. I’m sharing this because I want answers, accountability, and to warn others about what happened to us.
Our Uber picked us up on the 1st of July at 11:38 am from Paseo Los Tilos 15, 29006 Málaga and dropped us off at 11:51 am at C. Barlovento, 15, Cruz de Humilladero, 29006 Málaga, Spain.
When the driver collected us, he never got out of the car. He opened the boot remotely from inside the vehicle, and my boyfriend placed our large pink 20 kg suitcase into the boot himself. We then got into the car, and the driver confirmed my name to which I replied yes.
During the journey, the driver was on the phone speaking to someone while wearing AirPods the entire time.
When we arrived at our destination, my boyfriend got out of the car first while I handed him his hand luggage. He walked to the rear end of the car to get the suitcase out of the boot. I took my time getting out of the car, making sure I hadn’t left anything behind.I then walked to the back of the car and saw that the boot was still closed. I expected the driver to open it remotely from inside the car, just as he had done when he picked us up. My boyfriend then tried to open the boot himself, but it was still locked.
We stood there waiting for the driver to open the boot.
At no point did the driver get out of the car, look back to see whether we had collected our luggage, or make any attempt to check that the boot had been emptied.
Instead, without opening the boot or checking whether we had retrieved our suitcase, the driver suddenly drove away.
We immediately shouted, waved our arms, and tried to signal that our suitcase was still in the boot, but he continued driving away with it.
Straight away, I opened the Uber app and selected “Find lost item – We can help you get in touch with your driver.” I called the driver multiple times within minutes, but he did not answer. When I tried again, the app told me to wait five minutes before calling again.
During those five minutes, we submitted numerous reports through the Uber app under every relevant category we could find in an attempt to get Uber’s attention and contact the driver as quickly as possible.
After the five-minute wait, I called again. The driver still did not answer. When I attempted another call, Uber prevented any further calls and informed me they would respond within 24 hours.
We did not have 24 hours.
Our flight home from Málaga was scheduled for 5:55 am the following morning.
Throughout the rest of the day, we repeatedly contacted Uber but received only automated responses saying:
“Thanks for reaching out, Leanne. We have taken the opportunity to review your concern and can see that you have previously reached out to us about this issue. One of our team members is currently investigating your issue and we will get back to you as soon as possible. To streamline our communication and avoid any confusion we are going ahead to close out this contact.”
Finally, at 10:06 pm, Uber replied asking for permission to share my contact details with the driver to help return the lost item.
I immediately replied “Yes.”
Uber then confirmed:
“Hi Leanne, we wanted to let you know that we’ve contacted the driver regarding the lost item you reported. We’ve also shared your phone number with the driver so they can contact you directly.”
I replied several times explaining that our flight was at 5:55 am and that we would be leaving for the airport at 3:00 am, asking how long it would take for the driver to respond.
I received no reply from them for the rest of the evening/ night.
Because Uber had told us they had contacted the driver, we genuinely believed there was still a realistic chance our suitcase could be returned. Based on that, we made the expensive decision to rebook our flights and pay for another night’s accommodation so we could stay in Málaga and recover our belongings.
Then, at 8:00 am the following morning, Uber finally replied with:
“Hi Leanne, the driver searched their vehicle but couldn’t find your item. We’re sorry we don’t have better news and hope you find it. We’ll let you know if we get any further updates.”
That response simply does not answer the obvious questions. This wasn’t a phone slipping under a seat or a ring disappearing unnoticed.
This was a large pink 20 kg suitcase that remained locked inside the boot because we were never given access to it after arriving. The suitcase also had a luggage tag with my name, and the flight route clearly displayed on it.
So where did our suitcase go?
Did it remain in the boot?
Was it removed somewhere?
Was it handed to someone else?
Was it dropped off somewhere?
We simply don’t know because nobody has been able to explain what happened after the driver drove away while our suitcase was still locked inside the boot.
The driver has still never contacted me directly, despite Uber telling me they had shared my phone number with him. He ignored every call I made immediately after driving away, and I have never heard from him since.
What I also don’t understand is whether everything is tracked on Uber. Surely there must be GPS records showing exactly where the vehicle travelled after leaving us. Surely there must be a proper investigation when an entire 20 kg suitcase is driven away in the boot of a vehicle.
Instead, it feels like Uber has treated us as though our account isn’t believable.
We know exactly what happened.
My boyfriend placed our suitcase into the boot.
We arrived at our destination.
The boot remained locked.
We waited for it to be opened.
My boyfriend tried to open it himself, but it was locked. The driver then drove away with our suitcase still inside.
Those are the facts.
The suitcase contained almost everything we had travelled with, including clothing, jewellery, electronics, money, gifts, shoes, skincare products, and other personal belongings.
We also reported the incident to the Spanish police, but so far no one has helped us locate either the driver or our suitcase.
Our entire holiday was ruined because of one driver’s actions. Instead of flying home as planned, we spent hundreds more rebooking flights and paying for another night’s accommodation because we genuinely believed, after Uber told us they had contacted the driver, that our suitcase would be returned. The financial cost has been enormous, but more importantly, we’ve lost our personal belongings without any explanation.
Uber’s customer service has been incredibly disappointing. 10 hours to get a reply off them, 10 hours later they contact the driver ??? We expected urgency when someone’s entire suitcase had been driven away. Instead, we received automated replies, hours of silence, no contact from the driver, and finally a message saying the suitcase could not be found and case closed.
That is simply not good enough.
I’m posting this because I want accountability and spread awareness.
If anyone has experienced something similar, or knows how to escalate this beyond Uber’s standard support team, I would really appreciate your advice.
Please consider sharing this post. No one should have to go through this.