A Bengaluru man has come under fire after revealing that he walked away without paying after an autorickshaw ride because the driver refused to accept payment through UPI, insisting on cash. In a post shared on the social media platform X, the man said he refused to pay cash to the autorickshaw driver.
“I am not going to pay cash”
“Auto guy denied UPI today morning. I said, I am not going to pay cash,” he wrote on X, adding that the auto driver “threatened a bit”.
The man said that the driver had already marked the ride as ‘paid’ on the app, indicating that the autorickshaw was booked through a ride-hailing app like Uber or Ola. “I said either UPI or I will not pay. He called someone and asked what to do. The man on the phone wanted to talk to me. I said, I will not talk to any random person,” the Bengaluru man said.
Failing to reach a satisfactory resolution, the man threatened to walk away without paying. Thinking he was bluffing, the autowalla asked him to walk away if he so dared. “I walked away,” the man said in his X post.
Post sparks outrage
The post led to backlash against the customer, with X users calling him out for availing a service (an auto ride) and not paying for it. Users also pointed out that ride-hailing apps now have ‘cash’ as the default option for auto rides, so the man could not claim ignorance.
{{/usCountry}}The post led to backlash against the customer, with X users calling him out for availing a service (an auto ride) and not paying for it. Users also pointed out that ride-hailing apps now have ‘cash’ as the default option for auto rides, so the man could not claim ignorance.
{{/usCountry}}“You are legally required to pay for the service availed. The auto man is not legally required to have UPI. You are NOT a hero here,” wrote X user Ganesh Arunadann.
“Harrassing poor drivers is the new norm in digital India. Whereas industrialists are getting worth thousands of crores loans at none [sic],” another X user pointed out.
“Walking away without paying for services availed is clear felony. Itna hi dikkat hai cash se toh puchke baitho why harass the poor unnecessarily (If you have so much problem with cash then ask before you sit in the auto, why harass the poor unnecessarily?)” a user wrote.
Plenty of people also pointed out that cash is legal tender and a customer cannot insist on UPI. “You cannot deny someone cash as payment for services idiot. Cash is legal tender for indian commerce,” a user said.