PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) – The Better Business Bureau is warning the public of Uber ‘vomit fraud’ after customers reported being charged a ‘damage fee’.
“She got sushi in the city and they charged her like 250 for a throw up charge.” Marina Frkovic says it happened to her friend. She took an Uber then later she says there was a big charge for a cleaning fee when there was no spill of any kind.
“She ended up just tweeting Uber and they ended up refunding her,” Frkovic explained.
Marina’s friend’s experience is common, according to a Better Business Bureau warning, which says some Uber drivers are charging riders a ‘damage fee’ and posting dubious pictures of supposed vomit or other spilled bodily fluids to justify the charges. Only problem is in many cases it never even happened. Some Lyft users have reported the same problem, too.
“You kind of like trust your Uber driver to give you your ride to where you want to be and you are already paying them so why would you take more money out, you know?,” Frkovic said.
Christine Layden says it happened to a friend of hers.
“She was so annoyed that it had happened that she just deleted her whole Uber account,” Layden explained.
Uber tells FOX 29 the vast majority of cleaning fees issues are because of a legitimate mess a customer makes in a car, but it also says drivers who commit fraud are banned from the app.
The ride share giant says in a statement quote:
“Participating in fraudulent activity of any kind is a clear violation of our community guidelines. We are constantly evaluating our processes and technology related to these claims and will take appropriate action whenever fraud may be detected.”
Uber says to report questionable charges to them right away and Uber drivers should report any damage with photos as soon as possible.
