Young woman sent 'creepy' texts from taxi driver after her journey
A young Melbourne woman claims she was sent a series of “creepy” text messages from a cab driver who took her number from the dispatcher.
Natasha, 31, who lives in Sunbury in the city’s northwest, was on her way to work early on February 4 and decided to call a taxi. On February 10, she also called a taxi and had the same driver.
“The first time was OK – he didn’t really say anything,” she said.
“But the second time was really unsettling. He noticed an apartment was available at the front of my building and said all his roommates are junkies and he wanted to move in.
“’I could drive you around whenever you wanted’, he told me.”
The 31-year-old said she “sort of let it go” but two days later she received a text from the driver at 5.26am.
“Good morning, do you need taxi? Tell me OK and I’ll come and get you,” the text reads.
Natasha texted back about six hours later asking who the message was from.
He explained he was “Brian” and he had driven her in a taxi before.
Brian told Natasha he got her number from the dispatcher.
“No, that’s incredibly unsettling,” Natasha wrote.
“At no stage did I consent to having my number used to contact me by drivers. I’m feeling really uncomfortable.”
The driver asked if she wanted him to delete her number.
“That is not OK at all,” she wrote.
Natasha emailed the taxi company telling them she felt “violated, creeped out and unsafe”.
“I’m extremely upset,” she wrote.
The woman told Yahoo7 she “had a bit of a freak out”.
“He’s twice my size and knows where I live,” Natasha said.
She was told in an email, “sorry if you feel violated by Brian’s actions”.
The company wrote it’s not with the taxi drivers 24/7 and rely on and trust the drivers to “have better judgement” and respect customer privacy.
Natasha said after her story got out she was told by the taxi company they were considering letting Brian go. She was also informed he had some kind of disability.
“They’ve gone about this the wrong way and I wouldn’t want my employer disclosing that,” she said.
“This was a bad experience all round. I’m glad they’re taking action but the line was already crossed.”
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