My Uber driver locked me in his car @ 1am and wouldn't let me out until I gave him enough money. I spoke to police but they said to go to Uber. Now Uber isn't helping. What do I do?
Hello, please excuse the long read! I included lots of detail because I genuinely don't know if I'm overreacting or not. Am I crazy?
I (female) got in a big fight with family which triggered a mental episode. I was supposed to be with my mom but she left me. I ended up walking downtown alone, getting drunk and feeling miserable (stupid decision, I know).
Eventually, sufficiently drunk but not enough to black out, I decide I want to go home or at least crash at my brother's place, so I order an Uber. I don't remember the exact pick-up or drop-off location but I gave support a close estimate.
Anyway, the uber driver (male), picks me up, and I don't remember if he said or did something first that made my instincts kick in, or if he just parked- nearby- right away, but I suddenly wanted OUT of that car.
Problem was, I couldn't get out. The doors were electronically locked and he wouldn't let me. I kept trying it. Over and over.
For some reason calling 911 slipped my mind, and I tried to be as casual and "chill" about it as possible, but I was terrified. We had this back and forth between us that went on for quite a while. I never raised my voice or went hysteric but I was FEELING it. I was wondering what the hell I had to do for this man to let me out of his car- and was terrified of the thought of him putting the car into drive and speeding off into god knows where- so I opened my wallet.
Thankfully, my dad gave me cash earlier. I start offering bills one at a time, keeping them just out of arm's reach so that he'd be forced to unlock my door first.
Eventually he let me out (he might've taken my keys in the process, but I got my locks changed), and soon after I stumbled into three police officers on patrol. In defense of my public intoxication, I explained to them I was trying to get home but this man had locked me in his car and demanded cash. At this point, I was shaking.
I asked the police if there's anything they can do, and perhaps because I wasn't assaulted, they told me to go to Uber support first.
Now it's been a few days. Uber hasn't done ANYTHING. The driver must've cancelled the ride or done something on his end because supposedly, Uber can't verify my pick-up or drop-off location. And now as of today, they said:
Our Community Guidelines say off-app pickups are prohibited. We’ll remind the driver that these guidelines require them to follow the law and to never accept fares outside of the Uber system.
If a ride is completed off-app, we won’t have access to your trip or payment information. Here are some steps you can take to help ensure you’re with the correct driver and your ride is on-app: [insert advice like "check the license plate!! here]
...And then they closed the case.
Absolutely nothing was done off-app (besides him ROBBING ME), as the trip and the fare paid is right there. I opened the case again explaining this to them, but I'm just lost.
What the fuck. Forget a solution, Uber didn't even understand the problem. And now he's still on the road, potentially doing this to others.
Am I crazy? Is nobody going to help me, or punish him? Should I just forget about it lol? What do I do? =(