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FARE RAGE
Uber passenger’s fury after being charged £111 for a TWO-MILE trip home from the pub – 23 times the normal price
A PLUMBER was left furious after being charged £111 for a two-mile Uber journey home from the pub.
Matt Bennett woke up after a night out to find he had been overcharged for the eight-minute trip which usually costs a fiver.
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The teen had gone to bed after a few drinks and hadn’t noticed the fare, but was in disbelief when he saw the total the next morning.
Shocked Matt, 18, told The Sun: “I got the Uber back thinking it was all good.
"It’s a journey I’ve done many times before and I’ve never had a problem.
“But I woke up the next day to see an excessive amount billed to my credit card.
"I was in shock, especially since my average charge is £4-7 and I’d been quoted the same.”
Matt was so stunned he rushed to tell his mum Mandy, whom he lives with in Nottingham.
She said: “I was outraged.
"Matt can’t afford the fare, he’s only 18 and only just finished his plumbing apprenticeship. Plus it’s very difficult times and he’s finding it hard to find work.
“But even if he wasn’t struggling financially, it still doesn’t make it right. I’m absolutely furious.”
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Matt, who had been drinking at the Plainsman pub in Mapperley, had been charged just £4.90 for the same journey one month earlier.
He disputed the fare - 23 times the usual cost - on the app but was told it was a reasonable price for that time because they were busy.
He then phoned Uber and was again told it was a ‘surge’ charge - when it’s busy, the prices go up - as he was travelling just after the 10pm curfew.
Matt said: “They just kept telling me it was a fair price, which it definitely wasn’t.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this.”
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His credit card company temporarily held the payment but said they needed proof Matt didn’t accept the increased fare - something which is impossible to get after you’ve taken the journey.
So Mandy did some digging and found that if you’re getting a ‘surge’ charge then there should be a little purple ring with a yellow lightning bolt stating the increase.
She said: “It should say, ‘it should have cost you this, but it's going to cost you this’. But there’s nothing on Matt’s receipt that says surge on it.
“It really worries me because we live in Nottingham where there is a massive student community and these things are probably happening to more and more people.
“And they don't do anything about it because it's so difficult to do anything about. Uber makes it very difficult to complain.”
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Mandy phoned Uber herself and asked for a manager to call her back, but a week later had still heard nothing.
After being contacted by Sun Online, Uber agreed to refund Matt’s fare.
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An Uber spokesperson said: “We are always happy to review a trip if there are concerns about the route taken, and provide a fare adjustment where appropriate.
“In this case, we apologise that we did not meet our usual high standards of customer care, and the customer has been refunded.”
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