oBike in Singapore is dead.
And oBike users in Singapore who handed S$49 deposit each to the bicycle-sharing company previously are having trouble getting the money refunded.
This was after oBike announced they are ceasing operations in Singapore on June 25 as they are having trouble fulfilling the new tighter requirements and guidelines released by Land Transport Authority (LTA).
No refund option
Worst news of all: oBike users have hit a brick wall when trying to get their S$49 deposit back.
Previously, users could seek a refund by clicking on the My Wallet tab.
The process, according to the FAQ on the oBike website read:
To get a refund for your deposit, please go to My wallet, and click the link for refund deposit. You will receive your deposit within 14 working days.
If you did not receive your refund after 30 working days, please inform us and we will look into it immediately.
You can request for refund of deposit once at no cost. For request of refund more than once, a transaction fee will be imposed and deducted from the deposit.
However, it is no longer functioning.
Clicking on the My Wallet tab:
Clicking on Refund Deposit:
Continuing to refund:
And it fails to connect:
oBike in trouble in early June
oBike was already in trouble as it was not honouring refunds in early June 2018:
In its June 25 notice, oBike expressed its "sincerest appreciation to more than one million users" in Singapore that have supported its services since it was launched in January last year.
If 50,000 of these 1 million users deposited S$49 each, that is S$2.45 million.
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What users had to do initially
Initially, to rent a bike, a user put up a S$49 deposit with oBike and then pay the usage fees of 50 cents for every 15 minutes. Students can place a deposit of S$19.
The deposit is expected to be refunded if the user stops using the service and seeks a refund.
This process is carried out via the mobile app.
However, many users are not able to activate the refund feature on the app now that oBike has closed down suddenly.
Users seeking a refund can send angry emails to oBike at this email address: [email protected]
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