Uber driver tells woman she deserves her cancer and is an animal after she cancels taxi from hospital

Driver has now been fired

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An Uber driver brought a fresh round of controversy for the company this week, as it emerged that he had allegedly sent insulting texts to a customer with cancer who needed to cancel her ride.

The news came amid a fresh round of controversy for the taxi start-up, after the company was forced to apologise when an executive reportedly suggested digging up dirt on the personal lives and families of journalists.

Craigle said that she had been a happy user of the service for two years. But when she ordered a taxi and then cancelled it almost straight away because she realised she had left something behind at her treatment, a series of aggressive phone calls reportedly followed that has left her unwilling ever to use it again.

After cancelling the trip within a minute of requesting it, Craigle said that she received a text from the driver saying “You are not human”.

In response the explained that she had left a scarf behind at cancer treatment, and had to go back, but the driver continued to text her.

“Yeah right I think you deserve what happened to you with such a character,” the texts allegedly read. “You hang up the phone and cancel the trip… go see a head doctor too.”

Craigle had also received three calls and a threatening voicemail, she said. The company gave her $30 of credit that evening, though she said that it would go unused.

Uber told Boing Boing that they had fired the driver responsible: “Uber has a zero tolerance policy for abusive or threatening language on our platform, and as we have done in this instance, we immediately deactivate any driver found in violation of that policy.

“While the vast majority of Uber driver partners provide five-star trips with each ride, when a driver fails to meet the level of service and courtesy Uber riders know and love, we take action immediately.”