Lately Uber has been having some problems keeping up with the competition while keeping their prices on the low side. However, on Wednesday, it looked like Uber could take no more; passengers began to be charged 100 times the advertised fare for their trips due to a glitch in the app, causing many customers to angrily vent on Twitter about how convenient it was that Uber had no contact info.
Expensive Fare
On Wednesday, Uber started charging people over $1,000 for a short ride through town, thanks to a glitch in their app that caused customers to be charged 100 the advertised cost of the ride.
For some, this was a $13 ride turning into a $1,300 ride along with a fraud alert. On the worse end of the spectrum, a poor wife took a trip that was advertised to have cost $96.72 but Uber charged her $9,672.
WTF, @Uber, you charged $1,308 to my card instead of $13.08?! (Second screenshot shows the same route fare a moment later; it’s #ComicCon so it’s fluctuating rapidly.) pic.twitter.com/2S6sxRmnRc
— Kelley | 🚀🌌🛰💛 (@Astro_Kelley) July 17, 2019
Although Uber did not directly address where these glitches were happening, passengers in major U.S. cities, as well as people in Paris, reported problems with the cost of their ride.
UberEats was also affected by the glitch, with customers reporting that they had paid over $1,000 for a $15 meal.
@Uber I just got charged over $1000 for a $15 meal and there’s no way to get my money back since you don’t have contact info. #scam #fraud
— Scargon231 (@Scargon231) July 17, 2019
Customer Service
Many customers complained about their credit cards being put on hold or getting alerts from their banks for the outrageous money they just spent. Customers were also less than happy about Uber’s customer service, or lack thereof.
Uber tweeted, in response to complaints, that the problem had been fixed. “We understand that this has been frustrating,” Uber said. “There was a known issue that caused your authorization hold to be very high. Our team has already fixed this issue. Thank you so much for your patience.” [1]
Notes:
- ^Siddiqui, Faiz. “Uber glitch charges passengers 100 times the advertised price, resulting in crosstown fares in the thousands of dollars.” Washington Post, 18 July 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/18/uber-glitch-charges-passengers-times-normal-price-resulting-crosstown-fares-thousands-dollars. (go back ↩)
