gilbertaue

I had this happen twice to me in Jakarta two weeks ago. Both times I emailed UBER, both time it was reversed to my CC and both times the reply came within 5 mins.

I had 3 cases last week in Kuala Lumpur where a certain toll fee (always the same toll) didnt auto appear. One case the driver manually requested and UBER notified me. In the two other cases I messaged UBER to add the amount and they replied and did so with thanks (and sending a revised invoice).

Soccerdad1995

I haven't had an issue with Uber yet, but they will get one e-mail from me, just like everyone else gets. If that one contact doesn't resolve the issue, and it has been more than 48 hours, Amex gets a disputed charge request. I'd imagine these are fairly easy to process for Uber since Uber does not anything from me (the customer) authorizing the charge.

Saidoh

This happened to me in Dubai. I was at the souk and traffic was really heavy. I contacted Uber and they credited my account for a future ride, but this was no good, because the credit was in AED, and the credit wasn't even received until after I got back to the States. So I disputed the charge with AMEX because I have no patience for run-around and shenanigans and didn't want to go back and forth with Uber, and AMEX quickly reversed the charge on my credit card. Uber's policy is that if a driver waits for more than five minutes the customer is charged a cancellation fee, but this is bogus if the driver doesn't show up, and doesn't even call if he's having trouble finding you.

davie355

I'm pretty sure credit card disputes under a certain amount (maybe $30?) are written off by the credit card company without ever going to the merchant.

Saidoh

That's my thought as well, which is why it's probably not worth it to go back and forth with Uber if you don't get the right resolution the first time.

Boraxo

Agree. In fact this would be of high interest to the NY or CA attorney generals. Anybody who charges consumers for services not received is guilty of fraud. If they do this on a widespread basis intentionally then this is organized fraud and a civil or criminal RICO case might be appropriate.

themicah

But I don't think it's inappropriate for Uber to charge you if you request a car and don't show up to meet the driver, which is what these fees are intended for. The fact that some drivers abuse the system doesn't make Uber criminally liable.

Boraxo

I don't have a problem with a cancellation fee provided there is a grace period (the current 5-minute rule seems sufficient). I have cancelled several rides recently when the actual pickup time was clearly going to exceed the estimate. If you estimate 3 minutes and the revised time shows 8 I will cancel almost every time because I know the actual will be longer as most drivers don't seem familiar with optimizing their routes and rely on google maps which is often wrong.

However I find it hard to believe that Uber cannot tweak its software to distinguish between driver-initiated cancellations and passenger-initiated ones. And in any case, you can't charge a fee for a service you don't provide. Really it should be the other way around - Uber should assess a penalty against the driver and credit the customer.That would quickly eliminate this nonsense.

themicah

Their software does distinguish between driver-initiated cancellations and passenger-initiated cancellations. And when drivers initiate the cancellation, they can choose whether to charge the customer the cancellation fee or not. They're only supposed to charge the customer if it's the customer's fault that the ride didn't happen (usually because the customer no-shows). Also drivers who cancel too often can get terminated by Uber.

Error 601

The software might, but the email they send doesn't. I was hit with this scam last week and the receipt from Uber, the first indication I had that the ride wasn't coming said that I was being charged because the driver was already enroute. I was furious, mostly because I had been standing out in the cold waiting for a car that was never going to come.

Error 601

Scammed again...

But this was different, rather than me being charged a cancellation fee when the driver cancelled like I was above, this time the driver cancelled and then got Uber to charge me the full fare of the trip.

cestmoi123

You really seem to have terrible luck with Uber. I'd find another provider if I were you.

Error 601

I have generally had positive experiences with Uber in California, New York and Hawaii but the ability for drivers who simply don't show up to charge cancellation fees or in the more recent case charge for a trip that just didn't occur seems like a ridiculous flaw in their system.

themicah

If the charge isn't justified, a simple e-mail or two to Uber will almost always get it reversed. Same with Lyft.

What do you propose as an alternative if a passenger no-shows? It wouldn't be fair to drivers if they had to wait forever for a passenger and not get paid something.

Error 601

Well it isn't like Uber uses GPS or anything...

If the driver has been sitting around in the pickup location for whatever set threshold of time, charge the late or no-show passenger. If the driver never comes within a mile of the pickup location and cancels en route there should be no opportunity to charge the passenger anything.