There is a big reason why people trust renowned brands over others – brands have an image to maintain, and the perception is that they would (and should) deal with grievances faster because of it. But for a mother of two in Toronto, this choice actually became her worst nightmare when the Uber driver, who dropped her off, drove off with her 5-year-old daughter, with the transportation company steering clear by claiming that intervening would be going against policy.
Yep, you read that right – the internationally widespread Uber, which many trust with their safety and well-being, point-blank refused to help a desperate mother.
In an emotional revelation to People, Julia Viscomi, a mother of two kids in Toronto, shared the March 10 nightmare where she left a Toronto Raptors game with her two kids – Amelia, 5, and son 7 – and her boyfriend plus his two two kids but noticed her partner’s car had a flat. So, out of options, they booked an Uber for the 30-minute ride to her boyfriend’s house, during which her daughter fell asleep.
Since her boyfriend has poor hearing, the couple discussed how to exit the vehicle with four children very loudly, loud enough that Viscomi figured that the driver definitely heard it all. Their plan was for everyone to clear the SUV, and she had opened the garage, she would come back for her daughter. But she was “seconds too late” to get to Amelia as the driver drove off with her. Viscomi hoped that the driver would soon realize there was a child in his car and come back. But he didn’t.
Uber also refused to cooperate with the police.
She then ed the driver telling them that he was headed to his home, 20 miles away, after their ride was done, and realized he was not coming back. Her partner called the driver but couldn’t reach the man. This is when they called Uber’s customer , explained what had happened, and asked Uber to call the driver. Their response to a mother who was worried sick about her daughter?
“We don’t call the drivers. It’s against our policy.”
Uber refused to cooperate with the police
The duo then proceeded to call the police, who got a similar refusal from Uber and commented that “Uber’s incredibly difficult to deal with.” But thankfully, the police managed to track down the driver after about 80 minutes of Viscomi living the hellish experience. As per a Toronto Police Service representative, “the driver was unaware that the child was still in the vehicle. When officers arrived, the child was found in good health.”
No arrests have been made in the case, but Viscomi refused to give up. And what did she get for her efforts and surviving 80 long minutes of living every dire outcome, not knowing what happened to her daughter? A $10 credit from Uber via email.
“I was just so incredibly insulted. This wasn’t a purse left behind. It was a child’s life.”
Her attempt to get in with an Uber supervisor was similarly sidelined because, guess what – the company doesn’t have supervisors. When they refused to give her information for the company’s San Francisco headquarters, and her emails to Uber’s executives and customer didn’t work, she posted a priority overnight letter to Uber’s Toronto office. This got her a call from a Uber priority representative who sent her a letter to Uber’s legal department, which led to a call from an Uber insurer eight days later. And even then, the offered compensation remained super low, and more importantly, they were still nowhere near changing their policy.
It wasn’t until Viscomi took matters into her own hands and posted her story on Facebook did things finally broke her way. Toronto City Council member Mike Colle came to know about the incident and got his motion ed that makes it mandatory for rideshare services to provide emergency information to their customers and the police.
For Viscomi and Amelia, despite the win, the memory is still fresh. The 5-year-old gets scared even in sparsely crowded setups if she can’t find her mother. If she can’t see me in her peripheral vision, she’ll look left and be like, ‘Mom, you scared me. I didn’t know where you were.’ So there is a little bit of anxiety in there for her,” she added. What still terrifies Viscomi is the fact that all of it was “completely preventable” if Uber had stepped up.
“I’ve told the story hundreds of times, and I still cry. Certain things are very vivid. It’s a very surreal thing to think she was right there with me and then gone in a second.”
While Viscomi’s story ends on a positive note, that is not always the case when it comes to cases involving drivers intentionally or unintentionally driving off with children. Back in 2019, a Pennsylvania toddler, allegedly kidnapped by an Uber driver, was found dead in a park. There are more such horrifying incidents happening out there, and it is high time such big brands are held able for the safety of customers, who allow them to maintain their billion-dollar market value.
Published: May 22, 2025 11:53 am