An Indian student found herself stranded on the streets of Boston after a cab driver, with whom she had booked a ride through Lyft, abruptly cancelled the trip and fled with all her belongings.
Shreya Verma, a Harvard University Graduate School of Design student residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, revealed her ordeal on LinkedIn.
Shreya was en route to Logan International Airport for a flight to India to join her family when her Lyft driver cancelled the ride, took her luggage, and left her stranded.
Her nightmare started when she realised she had forgotten her headphones shortly after starting her Lyft journey.
She asked the driver to return to her residence and wait so that she could take her headphones.
After retrieving her headphones when she looked for the driver, she discovered that the driver had cancelled the ride, leaving her without her belongings and access to the vehicle information.
Shreya detailed her distressing experience on LinkedIn, sharing screenshots of her interactions with Lyft customer service.
“Yesterday, at 6 PM, I booked a ride to Boston airport. Shockingly, after loading my luggage, the driver abruptly canceled, leaving with all my belongings, including my passport, VISA, OPT/EAD Card, and vital document, electronics, resulting in a devastating loss of $30,000,” Shreya wrote, adding, “I have been actively seeking assistance from Lyft customer service, but unfortunately, crucial driver details remain elusive, compounding the challenges I am already facing.”
“The mandated legal procedures, involving subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants, are proving to be time-consuming and emotionally taxing,” she added.
She wrote the post a week ago and her story has since gone viral.
As her story garnered attention, the official LinkedIn profile of Lyft also responded to the post. “Hi Shreya, thank you for ongoing support as we work to resolve this. We’re in contact with the driver and working swiftly to get this solved,” the company commented.
Lyft CEO David Risher also reacted to Shreya’s unfortunate incident. “Very sorry you’re going through this, Shreya. That’s absolutely awful. Our team is on it,” Risher said.
Even as the company and the law enforcement is on her case, the incident has hindered Shreya’s plans to reunite with her family in India at a time when her father is battling cancer. Shreya is still awaiting the retrieval of her belongings.
