€600 Invoice For 20 Minute E-Scooter Ride In Ta’ Xbiex Leaves Rider Feeling Bamboozled
A Maltese man was shocked when he received an invoice for nearly €600 after he had embarked on a brief 20-minute e-scooter ride from Ta’ Xbiex to Naxxar.
Making use of app-based bike services due to his own motorcycle undergoing repairs, he decided to try out a new service that had recently hit Malta.
“I had been using WhizaScoot as my daily means of transport to and from work or wherever needed – had no issues at all, loved the service and would use it again if I needed,” the man told Lovin Malta.
However, he said the “trip itself was absolutely terrible”.
“The bike would not go beyond 25km per hour, even though they’re advertised at 45km per hour, and it struggled up even the slightest of inclines,” he recounted.
“I made it home in 20 minutes, rode around 8km, and decided I would stick to the previous service. As far as I was concerned, the story stopped there,” he said.
He moved on with his life – until a whopping and unexpected invoice suddenly appeared.
“On 1st April, I received my March invoice from Muving Malta, and it was for the whopping amount of €578.97, for 114.5km – which is equivalent to 2,773 minutes,” he said.
Invoice from Muving
“Now, considering the batteries of the bikes cannot possibly exceed the 50km mark, and the time stated means I rode for nearly 48 hours, and the battery had around 10% left when I finished the ride, something definitely wasn’t right.”
He emailed the company the day that he received the invoice – and immediately got a response indicating they were looking into it.
However, when he tried calling the number, it went straight to voicemail. Lovin Malta also attempted to call the same number and it also went straight to voicemail as described.
“I also messaged on Facebook, asking to get some sort of response or at least talk to a human being. I then left reviews on Facebook stating the issue. I even sent Twitter messages to the mother company in Spain, as well as tried to email them, but nothing,” he said.
“Now, their Facebook just went offline and the Maltese website Facebook link redirects to the Spanish one. The phone number still goes to voicemail, but the service is still being advertised.”
Upon Lovin Malta’s involvement in the case, a representative for the company got in contact with the man and clarified that he had not been charged and the invoice is being withdrawn.
They also offered their help and urged the man to contact them again if he does indeed get charged for the ride, apologising for what happened.
Although a potential crisis was fast approaching the rider, it seems that the worst was avoided – though it might be a while until he tries a different bike service again.
Have you ever experienced anything similar?
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