When Kate Walker took an "uneventful" journey in a taxi, she didn't expect what happened a few days later. Kate took a five-minute journey from a station back to her flat, which she said cost £6, after returning from a gig.
But she said the taxi provider, Bolt, tried to withdraw £66 from her account. She queried the charge and was told that it was a cleaning fee because the driver had accused her of urinating and spilling a drink on the back seat.
Kate, 24, told the M.E.N : "I was mortified. I couldn't believe it, I was so annoyed because I just knew that definitely didn't happen."
Kate had taken the taxi from Manchester Piccadilly station to her flat in the early hours of June 29 after attending a gig in Leeds. She refuted the charge straight away, but was told the driver had provided evidence. Kate was then sent a photo of 'clear' liquid on what she claims is a different seat to the one she was sitting in.
She said: "I just asked them if there was any chance the picture could have been fabricated, or if there could have been a mistake. I didn't even have a drink with me in the car and the picture certainly doesn't look like someone wet themselves."
But Bolt told her the driver had submitted the picture immediately after her journey and had not picked anyone else up in the meantime. In a series of interactions with the company, Kate said she 'pleaded' with them to investigate the driver - but the money had been taken from her account and she was told nothing could be done.
"The whole time I was speaking to these representatives I was being made to feel like I was just some stupid young woman who had got too drunk," she added. "I wasn't believed at all. It was a really horrible feeling."
Kate eventually told Bolt she was speaking to the press about the incident and was refunded. But she told the M.E.N she wanted to share her story to make others aware.
"Obviously everyone is feeling the pinch with the cost of living crisis - I know there is desperation out there," she said. "But it's such an easy way of getting money out of people, because some people wouldn't notice. If I hadn't had insufficient funds in my account at the time I wouldn't have been notified of the charge."
A Bolt spokesperson said: “The significant majority of Bolt journeys take place successfully and without incident. The safety and quality of the Bolt service improves the more feedback we receive - positive and negative - so we encourage everyone to continue to share their experiences through all the available channels.
“If a report contains allegations of serious misconduct, our standard practice is to ask both sides for their view of the incident and make a judgement on how best to proceed. For example, if a party is found to be fraudulent, they are removed from the platform. We involve local authorities as appropriate.”
