An Uber drove away with her kid. Then Uber wouldn’t connect her or police with the driver

Within seconds, Julia found herself facing every parent’s worst nightmare. After a Toronto Raptors game during March Break, Julia, her boyfriend, and their four kids took an Uber back to his place due to a flat tire. However, things took a terrifying turn when Julia’s five-year-old daughter fell asleep in the far back row of the vehicle.

Upon arrival at their destination, the couple discussed their plan for unloading everyone from the Uber. Julia was supposed to grab the garage door opener from her car while her boyfriend started unloading the other kids, their car seats, and winter coats. The plan was for Julia to carry her sleeping daughter out of the vehicle once the path to the back seat was clear.

However, as Julia prepared to return to the road to retrieve the garage door opener, she realized the Uber had left with her daughter still inside. Panic set in as she frantically searched the street for the moving vehicle, with the other kids already in hysterics wondering where their sister had gone.

Julia’s distress grew when she found out that Uber customer support refused to help them or the Toronto police contact the driver. Despite Julia’s pleas for assistance, the ride-sharing company insisted that the police needed to fill out a form to obtain the driver’s contact information.

Ultimately, it was the swift action of the Toronto police that led to the safe recovery of Julia’s daughter. The police were able to track down the driver, who was unaware that the child was still in the vehicle. Fortunately, the young girl was found unharmed, albeit in a state of distress.

In the aftermath of the incident, Uber offered a mere $10 credit to Julia’s boyfriend, which she viewed as inadequate given the traumatic nature of the experience. Uber stated that safety is their top priority and they are reviewing the incident internally to identify areas for improvement in their support systems.

Technology analyst Carmi Levy commented on the challenges of customer service in the gig economy, noting that efficiency often comes at the cost of traditional customer support channels. Julia has since escalated her concerns with Uber, seeking both compensation for the emotional stress endured and a commitment from the company to revise their emergency response procedures to prevent similar incidents involving minors in the future.

Julia emphasized the need for policy changes to ensure that no one else goes through what her family experienced. She made it clear that compensation alone is not sufficient without concrete changes to prevent such a harrowing ordeal from happening again.