Free Now Bonus Codology

[Rat Catcher]

Below screenshots (from my Free Now Driver app) clearly show 3 "completed" and 2 "not completed" quests over the Haloween weekend... yet I was only paid for 2 and the depot are refusing payment for the other one. Has anyone else been caught by this scam?

[Rat Catcher]

Correspondence with the depot:

Email 01 Nov:
Hi,

The app correctly shows that I completed 3 “quests” from 29-31 October i.e. one (complete 15 jobs) per day with a €55 bonus specified for each. However, I have received my statement (number 1211-2345867) for the period ending 31 Oct and have only been credited with €110 bonus. What happened to the other €55?

Your attention to the same is much appreciated and I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Stephen O’Connell

Reply 01 Nov:
Thanks for getting in touch.
 
The Quest Offer was as follows:
 
complete 15 jobs x Thurs - Fri - € 50 / Sat - Sun - € 55 = €210 in total
 
I've checked and you completed the 15 jobs on Saturday and the 15 jobs on Sunday which is why you received the €110.
 
You didn't complete any jobs during Thursday and Friday, which is why you didn't receive the rest.
 
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Email 03 Nov:
The app clearly set quests for 5 days i.e. Thur 27th - Mon 31st inclusive. As the attached screenshots show I completed the quests as set on 3 of those days i.e. Sat, Sun and Mon.

Your attention to the same is much appreciated.

Regards,

Stephen

Reply 05 Nov:
Thanks for your patience while we looked into this.
 
After consulting this with my superiors they have confirmed that the quest ran from Wednesday, 26 October until Sunday, 30 October - 6PM to 2AM.
 
If there is anything else that we can assist you with, please get back in touch and we’ll be more than happy to help you.


Email 06 Nov:
I would be obliged if you could further consult with your colleagues to establish:

1) Why my app clearly shows 3 quests completed and;
2) Why my app clearly set quests for Thur 27 - Mon 31 inclusive.

both as evidenced within the screenshots forwarded to you.

Is it simply the case that you deliberately lied to encourage cover on Halloween night which is obviously one of the busiest and messiest nights of the year for the taxi trade?

If this is the case and/or you cannot reconcile what your colleagues are telling you with what I was actually offered in the app I would be obliged if you could further escalate this issue, in particular I would like it brought to the attention of Fiona Brady and/or Alan Fox in head office.

Your attention to the same is very much appreciated and I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Stephen O’Connell.

Reply 07 Nov:
Thanks for reaching back out.

My name is [removed] your query has been escalated to myself I am a senior member of the support team here.

As previously explained by my colleague the information provided was correct, complete 15 jobs x Thurs - Fri - € 50 / Sat - Sun - € 55 = €210 in total
 
I've checked and you completed the 15 jobs on Saturday and the 15 jobs on Sunday which is why you received the €110.

The reason you see Monday on that screenshot you provided is because the quest was past midnight on Sunday ( 2AM Monday morning would be when the Sunday night bonus was finished) so it started on Sunday night at 6pm and finished Monday morning 2am.

It was not on for Monday night unfortunately which is why you received the bonus you did and I can confirm that this is correct.

We appreciate your feedback on this matter and will be sure to pass this on to our team for further quests.

Email 07 Nov:
Thank you for your response.

I would be obliged if you could extrapolate the logic you have applied to Monday’s bonus through the rest of the screenshots submitted and explain how or why I was awarded a bonus for Saturday.

Whatever way you try to juggle start and end times the facts are simple and indisputable i.e. the screenshots show 5 quests with three shown as “completed” and the other two shown as “not completed"… yet only two have been paid.

If you are unable to reconcile the obvious contradiction within the requested extrapolation I would like to (again) request that you escalate the matter to include bringing it to the attention of Fiona Brady and/or Alan Fox in head office.

Your continued attention to the same is much appreciated and I look forward to your reply.

Regards,


Stephen O'Connell

[Dr. Martin Gooter Bling]

fri-sat, 6pm-2am, 15 jobs, €55 bonus
sat-sun, 6pm-2am, 15 jobs, €55 bonus
sun-mon, 6pm-2am, 15 jobs,  €55 bonus

didje do that?

[John m]

If I was a betting man I would wager a few sovs the Rodent gets paid . Reading his texts you can see the Jesuits or at least Christian Brothers in his formal education .

[watty]

Below screenshots (from my Free Now Driver app) clearly show 3 "completed" and 2 "not completed" quests over the Haloween weekend... yet I was only paid for 2 and the depot are refusing payment for the other one. Has anyone else been caught by this scam?

They seem to be denying there was any promo on Monday but the screenshot clearly shows Monday 6pm --> 2am.  I guess you could argue what 2am Monday means in common parlance but there's no misunderstanding what 6pm Monday is!

It seems to me you're in the right but probably best to ask Bilker Belker.  If there was a bonus going, he would have done it (and have proof) 



************************
Checked my email bin folder and found this.  Could FN have run 2 promos and gotten mixed up about what's what?

We expect demand to be high this Bank Holiday Weekend with the Halloween celebrations around the country. We are offering you the chance to win some incredible prizes during the festival peak times.

Every job completed during the peak times (between 12AM to 4AM from Friday, 28th until Monday, 31st October) counts as an entry into the draw for these amazing prizes:

 Xbox 1 1TB
 €500 Circle K Voucher
Apple Airpods Pro
4 x  €250 One4All

[Shallow Hal]

Good man...working yer bollox off for the depot!!

[Punter]

Sunday Buisnees Post

BY CHARLIE TAYLOR
Free Now, the taxi-hailing platform, has welcomed the changes to alcohol licensing laws announced by the gov- ernment last week, saying they could help ease the pressure on demand for taxis at peak times.
But Niall Carson, country manager for Free Now, warned of possible cab shortages in the run-up to Christmas. Demand for taxis is 30 per cent higher now than before the pandemic, ac- cording to Carson, who said that on a recent Saturday evening there were more than 17,000 requests for taxis made via the Free Now app.
"That's almost as many taxis as there are live in Ireland at the mo
earlier due to deferred tax assets. Free
ment," Carson said. "I'm nervous about Christmas. We expect it to be very busy and I do expect challenges. With increased demand for taxis our million in 2020. drivers are doing well, but obvious- ly we have to deal with the fact that there are fewer drivers than before the pandemic."
Now closed out the year with a cash
balance of €14 million, up from €6
Free Now has invested heavily in a bid to grow the number of drivers on its books, following a 10 per cent de- cline in drivers during the pandemic. The company, which marked its tenth year in operation in Ireland last year, has just reported a 38 per cent increase in turnover to €22.1 million the same time. in 2021.
Pre-tax profits totalled €1.6 mil lion, compared to €6.4 million a year
"We're really focused on rebuilding the taxi industry. I do think it is fit for purpose, but obviously there are improvements that can be made to attract new entrants and tackle supply issues at peak times," said Carson.
Free Now has long lobbied for changes to the night-time sector, the Free Now app. claiming it could help alleviate the pressure on drivers by avoiding a throng of customers seeking taxis at
Carson said that while consumers are watching their spending closely, he did not expect to see any let-up
in demand in the short term. He also said Free Now does not intend to raise fare prices despite rising costs. The company came in for criticism earlier this year following the introduction of a new €1 technology fee, which Free Now said was necessary to improve the quality of the service.
As well as providing access to taxis, Free Now has also begun offering other mobility services such as e-bikes via
In addition, the company has been working to increase the number of electric vehicles available. Carson said that as of next week, Free Now customers will be able to avail of a fully electric fleet between the canals in Dublin.






You would think with all that cash in the bank  it would be cheaper to pay Rat than the PR guru to put a spin on it !

But then again there is little logic to many of their actions ---

[markmiwurdz]

Shur they dun John M out of a slam dunk bobo a few years back,us taximen are like elephants--

''





.


fat fookers with big ears....

[John m]

I dont do Bobo work .While the chimps are running around chasing the Bobo I work the empty ranks make at least the same amount extra in wages as they make Including bo bo without any commission .I love when they offer Bobo I always have a good night .I also use the app as drivers refuse the good jobs to stay local covering short hops to get the Bobo .Work cleaver not hard .

[markmiwurdz]

Think RC has them by the bolo with the green tick beside the work done.

[Rat Catcher]

If I was a betting man I would wager a few sovs the Rodent gets paid . Reading his texts you can see the Jesuits or at least Christian Brothers in his formal education .

Marist Fathers.

Anywaysanall I have some great news for you... You finally backed a winner!

Reply 17 Nov:

Thanks for reaching back out.

The quest was not running on Halloween night, the reason it shows on Monday for you is that it was past the 12pm from Sunday night.

I understand that this caused confusion for you and you thought you had to again complete the jobs for Monday night also, I have flagged this with our marketing team for future ones that it is clear with actual dates or further clarification on quests.

As you did go and complete the jobs to attempt to complete what you did think was a quest I have added the payment of 55EUR to your account, this will show on your next weeks invoice.

Please note this is a gesture due to the confusion caused and we will not be able to do this in the future.

Should you have any further questions please let me know.

[Rat Catcher]

Below screenshots (from my Free Now Driver app) clearly show 3 "completed" and 2 "not completed" quests over the Haloween weekend... yet I was only paid for 2 and the depot are refusing payment for the other one. Has anyone else been caught by this scam?

They seem to be denying there was any promo on Monday but the screenshot clearly shows Monday 6pm --> 2am.  I guess you could argue what 2am Monday means in common parlance but there's no misunderstanding what 6pm Monday is!

The suggestion is that the one shown for Monday relates to Sunday as the quest finished after midnight. However, by that logic the one shown for Saturday would relate to Friday (again 6pm - 2am) but that's impossible because I didn't complete any jobs on Friday or between 00:00 and 02:00 on Saturday.

The staff seem to be as confused as me with one respondent suggesting the quests ran from Wed - Sun and others suggesting Thur - Sun. Anywasanall, the resolution is a fair one as I did believe that there was a quest on Monday and I completed exactly 15 jobs between 18:39 and 23:14.

I didn't know about the raffles but your second name has to be Fox to get anything out of those anyway.

[Rat Catcher]

Good man...working yer bollox off for the depot!!

Hardly.. for the w/e 30/10 I worked 6 hours Sat and 6 hours Sun, a total of 12 hours. For the w/e 6/11 I worked a total of 10 hours including 5 on Mon 31/10.

Prior to Sat 29th October the last job I completed for Free Now was on 21st August 2022.

[Rat Catcher]

I dont do Bobo work .While the chimps are running around chasing the Bobo I work the empty ranks make at least the same amount extra in wages as they make Including bo bo without any commission .I love when they offer Bobo I always have a good night .I also use the app as drivers refuse the good jobs to stay local covering short hops to get the Bobo .Work cleaver not hard .

Wise. I don't and have never claimed to apply sound business logic to my taxi driving. In fact, as I have reported on here many times I don't seek to maximise takings. My methodology is simply to operate a quarter of a plate i.e. I keep myself north of Collins Avenue and East of Ballymun road. Working apps, while expensive, is generally well suited to my methodology. The impact of "quests" is simply (what I'd suggest is the firm's objective) that I'll probably exclude all other apps from the relevant period. There was a minor side effect on Sunday night. In around the 23:00 mark I was one or two short of the required 15 jobs which led me to do two things I haven't done for years i.e. work beyond midnight and join the McDonalds unofficial rank in Swords. The latter was a tad counter productive in terms of getting the two jobs done because I ended up getting a street job to Skerries and getting caught up in short hops out there from the Bus unofficial rank for a while with the result that I didn't get home until c.01:30.

However, the advantage of the bonus to me is that it pretty much covers commission. My Free Now commission for the relevant 3 nights of the Haloween weekend amounted to €127.65, a quite considerable €7.51/hour but was more than offset by the total bonus of €165.00.

Did you ever get your Crimbo 2014? bobo?

[Belker]

FN Cork email sent on 25/10/2022;

Earn an extra €225
Complete 15 jobs each day between 6PM to 2AM from Wednesday, 26 October until Sunday, 30 October to earn an extra €45 per day. Completing 15 jobs on all 5 days during the peak times, will earn you an extra €225!

What did your email read as Ratcatcher ?