Lyft definition of "upfront pricing"
 

Today Lyft told me that the price you are shown when you select a ride type is not considered the upfront price, and that the upfront price is considered to be the price when a driver actually commits to a trip (which you have no way to see when committing to the trip as a rider). This price may be different than what you see when you request the trip -- sometimes by a large margin (160% in my case). I don't see how this is a viable model from the consumer's perspective -- you're signing up to buy something that you don't know the cost of.

Is this common with Lyft? I have never seen this happen in 1000+ Uber rides.

I have never heard of any such thing. Did you discuss this with Lyft by email or chat? Can you post their responses for others to read?

I wonder if a journalist might be interested in learning more on behalf of the many readers who would want to know Lyft's position here so they can make informed choices.

Hi bedelman, I discussed this with Lyft over chat, which was in and of itself a frustrating experience of being bounced from agent to agent, all of whom pasted platitudes like "Rest assured, you were not charged more than the upfront price" and "The upfront price is the price you are charged unless you change your destination or add stops". For various reasons, I'm not going to post the entirety of the chat (which can't be copy/pasted as text), but I am including a screenshot showing the core issue. This screenshot is unmodified except to obscure the dates/times and the specific amount of credit I was seeking. I did read the terms referenced in the link, and they do indeed allow for changing the price after the user has committed. I really don't understand how this is a viable model. The first time I saw the "new" price was after the ride had started, at which point I had little to no recourse.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2065922b70.png

Just because their T&Cs say they can do it doesn't mean that they might not be breaking local pricing laws. Threaten to contact local regulators and they just might relent. Then contact the local regulators anyway.

I talked to many people, threatened to escalate, referred to it as deceptive and fraudulent, and no one even hinted at conceding any ground. They're not budging. I was actually pretty surprised that at some point one of the reps didn't toss me a $10 or $20 credit as a sign of goodwill. And honestly, I'm not sure I'm interested in making a formal report to regulators. I'm not sure it's worth my time. Now I know not to use Lyft, which is the big lesson here for me.

Uber does the same, and doesn't even give you the opportunity to argue your case with a human; it's all automated and all it says is "your fare is correct"

I've been able to get the fare fixed with both Lyft and Uber when this has occurred, though it may have something to do with my level of spend. I've mostly stopped using Lyft though because of their bait and switch / noncompetitive pricing.
If people don't complain, they will continue to cheat customers. How hard is it to fill in an online complaint with your state Attorney General's office (or other relevant agency).

I'm certainly not denying it can/does happen with Uber, but in well over 1000 rides I've never seen it. And with Lyft, it was a challenge to get a human, just as it is with Uber. The first few times I just got automated systems telling me my fare was correct. TBH, I don't remember how I eventually got to a human (although they just repeated the same thing). I'm at some elevated level of Uber status, so it is easier to get a human than it is for regular customers.

Well, the answer to your question is that it takes about 15 minutes, which I've now done, inspired by your post. I will post back if anything happens.

The confirmation email from the MA AG says this, so I'm not super-optimistic they're going to help an out-of-stater with a $40 claim:

Wow, this happened in MA? I was under the impression that they’d be more inclined to pull this kind of bait and switch in states with weaker consumer protections (ie when it happens to me in MA, they usually fix it, but when it happened to me in MO, they wouldn’t fix it)

I have Uber platinum status although that seems to be completely useless because when I am able to get a human, they still direct me to the outsourced customer service (I heard Diamond gets actual Uber CS agents?)

Yes, it did, at Logan.
I just had an issue where I needed Uber support (actually something that was my fault) and even though I've now dropped all the way down to Gold I still received competent support over chat. I had been Diamond from the beginning of the program until they stopped renewing me at that level after COVID and I used to get competent seemingly-US-based phone support, but now I am relegated to chat...which as a Gold is still much improved from the early days.

How are you people finding a chat option? On my Lyft app it has a Help option but only with a few boxes to check but no option to chat or phone or any other contact that I can see.

My beef with the new Lyft pricing is that you can pay for a quicker pickup, but they don't guarantee the pricing. Typically, I see:
Priority pickup in 5 in: $18
Standard (5-10 min): $14
Wait & Save (within 15 min): $10

So you need to be somewhere and order the Priority pickup and they take 15 minutes to get to you. You pay for the $18 service, but they provide you with the $10 service. <sad trombone.wmv>

I wish I had a better recollection and could help you. I believe that I requested help about a specific trip and went through some prompts, and eventually said my issue wasn't resolved so I was vectored over to chat.

Just got charged an extra ~$4 on an Uber ride. The correct pricing was shown on the “add a tip” / “rate your trip” screen after drop-off but the receipt had the higher amount.

I’ve found the only way to get through to support is via “report an issue with a service animal”. :shrug:

Their initial response was some garbage about the NYC Black Car Fund, which (1) didn’t match the overage and (2) should have been in the upfront pricing. We’ll see what the round 2 response is.

Then I dispute with Amex, who will probably just credit me as a courtesy, kind of defeating the purpose, but frankly Amex has chosen to partner with Uber (and I rarely use Uber except for the monthly Platinum benefit), so if it comes out of Amex's pocket that’s fine too I suppose.

Today I received a form letter from the AG, basically saying that they aren't taking any action but that if it develops into a pattern of reports from other consumers then they may be in touch for additional details. This is about as I expected. I suppose it's a nice touch that they sent a letter.

Well, looks like I'm contacting the AG too. Lyft has gotten pretty bad about being outright dishonest.

I chose and paid a fee for an Express pickup which would have saved me a few minutes, but the driver spent the entire pickup time not moving (I'm not convinced that the driver did this, but rather the Lyft app simply matched me with a driver that was further away and lied about the driver's position) and I was picked up way later than a regular Lyft ride would have taken. I contacted them and they responded with form letters twice about how they reviewed my ride and that I was charged what they showed me up front and that there was nothing wrong. Then, after the second response, I received no further responses to my emails.

Lyft isn't even trying to hide their dishonesty these days.

I had the price change again last night. I selected a Wait and Save fare with a price of $23.99, but during the ride I noticed it said the price is $40.99. I can't figure out how to chat and the automated help just keeps telling me my fare was correct.

Always take screenshots. Neither of the two rideshare companies are honest these days, and Lyft seems to be much much worse than Uber.

Good suggestion, but what do I actually do with that screenshot? And how do I prove the screenshot accurately shows the sequence of what happens? It seems I would need video.

You can do a screen recording too.

The screenshot/screen recording is what you use when confronting the useless person that responds to the customer service chat. You may also need to threaten to contact regulators. Usually with the screenshot/screen recording, they back down.

Do you know how to chat with a human? I was unable to figure that out this time.

I always take a screenshot. But in the rare cases where I had an issue, the automated system always corrected in when I complained

Uber is now being dishonest about the upfront pricing too.

Uber can tell if I took a screenshot. When I take screenshots, they don't ever change the fare unless it's fair reason (ie the driver elected to take a toll road to save time). Today, I requested a ride, the app said I could get a ride in a little as 4 minutes. The app matched me to a driver 18 minutes away, so I hit Cancel, gave the reason (driver too far) and was given the option to Find Another Driver for no additional fare/fee. Well, I happened to not have taken ascreenshot of the initial quote this time, and after they re-matched me with another driver (this time the driver was 2 minutes away), the fare went up by about a dollar and change. This is blatant dishonesty. Always screenshot. Hold them accountable.

Can’t wait to join the inevitable class action. Thought I was going nuts with this but will always screenshot now.

Are you an Uber One member?

Yes. The increased amount is not the same amount as my Uber cash balance if that’s what you’re wondering. I thought that might have been the case at first.

Lyft has gotten worse with regards to their dishonesty.

The upfront pricing is what it is. What's worse is their time estimate to get a ride. For example, they might quote me $12 for a regular Lyft, or $18 for priority pickup, with the regular Lyft showing 2 mins to get a ride. If I request that regular Lyft ride, it will "search" for a driver for a whole minute before asking if I want to pay $6 to get a ride in 2 mins for priority pickup. (No, why would I? You told me that it would be 2 mins for a regular Lyft!) And if I tap No Thanks, it will match me with a driver 18 minutes away, in which case I'd cancel the ride, and get an Uber regardless of how much the fare is.

I have a $4 Lyft credit (from a partner) that I've been sitting on for MONTHS because Lyft pulls this dishonest trash on me every time I request a ride.