ComfortDelGro apologises after cabby dropped off woman, 88, with dementia and helper at wrong destination

ComfortDelGro has apologised after one of its taxi drivers mistakenly dropped off an 88-year-old woman and her helper at the wrong destination.

It added that the cabby and its customer service agent have been reprimanded and they will be issuing a full refund for the fare.

The incident came to light when the elderly woman's daughter, Agnes Ho shared a post in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group.

She said that she had booked a taxi ride for her mum and new helper to go to her aunt's house at Toh Yi Drive from Tampines for lunch on Saturday (June 25).

However, the cabby dropped the pair off at Toh Tuck Drive instead of Toh Yi Drive.

She was monitoring the journey on her mobile and said she "noticed that the driver took a longer route before he went on to the PIE (Pan Island Expressway)".

"I could not reach the driver on his mobile via the phone app, so I contacted the Comfort Call Centre," she said.

"The operator contacted the driver and reverted saying that he did drop my mom and helper off at the intended address.

"I told the operator to look at the route in their system and check where the ride ended, then she admitted it was wrong."

Eventually, Agnes and her cousin walked down to the Toh Tuck area to look for her mum and helper and eventually found them seated at a bus stop.

"The driver charged me $30.33 for the journey," she said.

"To the driver -- Do you have any conscience at all?"

In response to a Stomp query, Ms Tammy Tan, ComfortDelGro's group chief branding and communications officer said: "We had, on learning about this incident yesterday, launched an investigation.

"The cabby admitted to making a mistake and dropping Ms Ho's mother and the helper at Toh Tuck Drive instead of Toh Yi Drive.

"He realised this soon after, and had returned to look for them but was unsuccessful.

"We have reprimanded him and the customer service agent for their lapses.

"We have also reached out to Ms Ho to convey our deepest apologies to her, her mother and the helper.

"We will also be giving a full refund for the fares and will be visiting the family to check on her well-being.

"We will reinforce in our cabbies the need to ascertain the destination with the passengers, and also to watch out for vulnerable groups such as seniors and children.

"We are sorry for this incident."