Scammed by taxi driver abroad - credit card company says they can’t help

[FraudAbroad]

We are abroad on half term holidays. Did an excursion with the kids and got caught in torrential rain. Called an uber and got in with beach bags (in back) and the kids. Immediately after pickup the driver said there was an issue with the uber app and the ride had been cancelled. He said we could pay him the same amount as was on app with card. I was suspicious and asked my husband to double check the amount on card reader.
the amount on reader was correct but instead of £9 we have been charged over £900! Please no lectures on this is a common scam and we should have known etc. as I said there was a storm, we had two small kids in car, tons of bags etc.

our credit card company (Natwest) are now saying we can’t report a scam as we don’t have the receipt. Has anyone got any experience with this or a similar scam? Can we really not contest the transaction?

feeling very upset this has happened and £900 is of course not exactly small change. Thanks

I know, terrible behaviour from their end. Makes me reconsider having credit cards/travel cards going forward. I thought the point was that they could block fraudulent transactions (and we reported it within 15mins).

it seems we have a good chance when we dispute the charge on the card, but can also take a little while to resolve.

@FraudAbroad This isn’t anything to do with uber really. The driver told you the ride was cancelled. You could have got out but you didn’t have the ride with uber. You had a ride with a scam driver in a car. However Nat West says the attached and that’s fairly normal. Even if you authorised it, it’s still fraud. You report it via the app. I guess you aren’t paying Amex rates so don’t get Amex service but they should suspend the payment.

Agree with everyone else about pursuing it, but this is why I always use cash if engaging with more dubious parts of an economy

I was recently in Miami, which is now even more of a cesspit than I remembered, and let's just say my Haitian taxi driver was VERY disgruntled to be told he'd be getting folding stuff

The driver used uber as a platform to get us into the car. I wouldn’t get into a random man’s car. Uber are allowing scammers to stay on the app as approved riders. I think that’s appalling.
but it’s clear they don’t care, so another family on holidays will get scammed soon.

we have reported it to Natwest. Thanks

lesson learned the hard way. Was a difficult situation with a thunderstorm and 2 small kids in the car.

@FraudAbroad So you think uber know these people are doing this? Anyway I’m sure uber now have deleted him after your complaint. I think you have leaped to conclusions about the app though. If a driver cancels, how does uber know it’s a scam? They might just say you weren’t there. A cancellation doesn’t signify a scam. How does the uber platform support the scam?

Do they have identical rules in every country? Not sure they do.

Were NatWest any more help when you went back a second time?

You report via the app and wait! It’s modern banking. It should not take long though.

we have told uber and they are not interested in banning the driver or any actions at all. Thanks for your unhelpful comment.

is it now? Thanks for such a helpful comment 🙄any more wisdoms you want to share

We had to wait for the charge to come out and then raise a dispute. We have to wait for the outcome, but for now the charge has come out. I was thinking they could cancel or freeze the transaction but they can’t do this unless the card has been stolen.

Eye-opening article - I hadn't heard of this scam before, and it sounds like it's probably exactly what happened to the OP ☹️

Presumably to take such a large amount, the card needs to be inserted and PIN entered though? As there's a cap on contactless payments.

OP, sorry about the rubbish response you've had so far from both NatWest and Uber. Good luck with getting it sorted - maybe it's worth contacting Guardian Money or similar?

@Blankscreenthank you for posting that - I had no idea that sort of fraud was happening

@FraudAbroadim so sorry this has happened to you. From reading the article, the best way to get it sorted is to create a fuss. I would immediately start pinging their twitter - anything you can think of. Even escalate to your MP.

@FraudAbroad Well you hadn’t got anywhere by phoning had you? Neither did you appreciate how a dispute worked. Don’t blame the messenger. You put your pin in! I pay uber on the app and you knew it wasn’t uber. Of course it’s the fault of the scammer but you are blaming everyone else!