Wouldn't use this service again. Asked for more money half way through the trip
We hired a driver for ten hours on 22nd Oct 2025. We had several WhatsApp conversations before we booked and we asked for one long return trip to Rak and other stops within Dubai. The stops weren't specified and no caveats were made other than only one long trip was included. We received a quotation which stated that we had booked a driver for ten hours with 'multiple stops within city limits'. No constraints or limits were made on these 'multiple stops '. Three of us went on the trip. The driver turned up on time and drove us up to Rak. The purpose of the trip was for one member of the party to visit one school in Dubai and one in Rak for interviews. We arrived early in Rak and asked to be dropped off at a nearby mall before we went to the school in Rak. We also asked to return to the mall while the meeting in the school took place. We then returned to Dubai (we requested one toilet stop on the way). Once in Dubai, we asked the driver to take us to the second school. As there was limited parking outside this school, we suggested that we return to our accommodation (ten minutes drive away) so that one member of the party could be dropped off . The idea was that the car would then return to collect the person at the school and the two remaining members of the party would visit one more tourist attraction before returning with the car before the ten hour limit was up.
On the way back from Rak, we became conscious that the driver was receiving calls from others asking what he was doing. We explained the plan and the company seemed to accept that. We were, even at this point confused as to why we were being questioned given the terms of the agreement. After the drop off to the accommodation, we were asked to pay another 200 AED. The problem, apparently, was that the trip back to the accommodation was not included and considered a 'shuttle service'. We still can't see why this trip short round trip of 20 minutes or so would not be considered one of the 'multiple stops' in Dubai that were shown as part of the booking. If this had been communicated in advance, we wouldn't have asked for the drop off. We refused to pay the extra, and as a result the two remaining members of the party felt uncomfortable continuing with the trip and asked to be dropped off some 2.75 hours before the ten hours were up.
We complained afterwards and were offered a credit for an upgraded service and the suggestion that somehow a drop off trip to our (nearby ) accommodation was not covered by 'multiple stops within city limits' . We still haven't had any explanation of why this is different. We have asked for a refund for the hours we didn't use, and compensation for the distress caused.
The driver was courteous and professional throughout and we felt quite sorry for him, but feel that the actions of this company made continuing with the trip untenable. They still have given us no evidence that the constraints they added on were communicated to us in advance.
I wouldn't use this company again as it was quite a distressing experience.
22 de octubre de 2025
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