Summary

Uber charged $29,994 (Rs 24 lakh) for a ride that was supposed to be priced at $55 (Rs 4,500). After the ride, Uber deducted around 24 lakh from the bank account. Uber later refunded the fare after a few days.

Incident Details

A US couple, Douglas Ordonez and his partner Dominique, experienced a shocking incident during their vacation in Costa Rica. They booked an Uber ride in the city, expecting the fare to be around $55 (Rs 4,500). However, to their surprise, after the ride, they discovered that Uber had charged them approximately 600% more than the actual fare. This resulted in a deduction of $29,994 (approximately Rs 24 lakh) from their bank account.

Debit Card Usage

The couple usually used a credit card for international charges but unknowingly had their debit card attached to their Uber account for this particular ride. Consequently, the fare amount was automatically debited from their account, leaving them with a negative balance. A screenshot of their bank statement showed a negative balance of $22,697 (approximately Rs 18.7 lakhs).

Lack of Immediate Assistance

Although Uber’s help desk reached out to the couple on Twitter, they expressed disappointment with the lack of immediate response and redressal from the cab-sharing company. The couple stated that they couldn’t find a customer service number and had received only pre-generated messages. Altura Credit Union informed them that they had to wait another four days for the amount to possibly convert to the correct value.

Refund and Currency Exchange Issue

After a week and a few days, the couple finally received a refund. However, regarding the currency exchange issue, Dominique revealed that the bank considered it their fault, stating that the travel notice on her card allowed the charge to bypass the security measures and policies in place.

Uber’s Response

Uber addressed the matter promptly upon receiving the user’s report. They explained that the authorization hold was mistakenly applied due to a bank error in dollars instead of colones. Uber takes all reports seriously and assured that the support team promptly resolved the issue.

Conclusion

This incident serves as a reminder to users to review their payment settings and ensure the correct cards are linked to their accounts. While glitches can occur in any app, it is important for companies like Uber to provide prompt customer support and timely redressal in such situations to maintain user trust and satisfaction.