Watch out for Uber Charging for Tolls That You Didn’t Take and Refusing to Refund

I took an Uber this weekend and I noticed the driver avoided the tolls, and added 5-10 minutes to our trip, at the time I didn’t say anything at the time because he had already missed the turn off and it seemed pointless.

To me it seemed like he did it on purpose, but what’s 5 mins extra so whatever.

But when I get my reciept I had been charged an extra fee of $13, which is quite a lot on a $35 trip.

So I put in a refund request for the toll, thinking it’s clearly marked as a toll, we didn’t take the toll road so it’s going to be easy to get the money refunded. As it turns out that was not he case.

First they told me that actually the driver did take the GPS route. So I replied saying he did not, and even clearly marked out the route that he took.

To which they replied that after running the calculation again I’m right and we didn’t take the GPS route, but the fare was within their expected parameters so they will still not refund me the money. Then I replied that I only wanted the toll back as we didn’t take any tolls, and the fee is clearly marked as a toll fee, seperate from the distance and time calculation.

They replied again with basically the same thing. Saying that they can’t refund the money it’s within our parameters.

I basically said I don’t care what your parameters are, you have admitted that we didn’t take the route you have charged the tolls for but are still refusing to refund the charge that is specifically marked as a fee for the toll, and that I am sending the reciept and this conversation to fair trading.

And then they decided that on doing the calculations again it seems I was right.

It’s all so much crap. I relally wish there was a competitor to Uber in Australia because these guys are the worst.

Anyway rant over, point is if you go near a toll road check your reciept if you have been charged, then you can have the fun I did.

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Comments

  • It makes sense for them to refund you the toll, since it’s being passed on back to the driver? I’d fight it as a matter of principle

  • one of my coworkers today was saying how her daughter took an uber home on the weekend.
    usually $70 or $80.
    she was charged $250.
    coworker was llivid.

    • yep, surge pricing when its in high demand. But you ARE warned….. So…

      • +3

        hahaha BUT MUMMY I DIDN'T KNOW!!!

  • +3

    I think I will stick to a Taxi from now on where you pay the driver at the end of the trip.
    Therefore you are not disputing/fighting with an online person that may not help with any alleged accusations that are untrue.

    • Actually Taxi's are much worse in this regard.

      1. If you don't pay the amount the taxi driver asks, you are stealing and he can call the police.

      2. Once you pay him the overpriced amount, you can complain, but you have no GPS data, no meter data, no payment data (if you paid in cash) and basically little proof of anything.

      So unless you want to make physical threats to the Taxi driver to get him to play fair, I think you'll have better luck in an Uber.

      • Yeah but you can see the periodic meter move during the trip re: Cost
        Normally the Taxi Driver adds the Toll charges to the meter at the end of the trip.
        If there is a dispute you can bring it to the drivers attention at that time and hopefully it gets resolved.
        If not, you pay the full fare and get the receipt (they do give you a receipt upon request), get the driver/car details and then you can make a complaint.

        Edit: There are apps you can get now for Yellow Cab etc .. similar to Uber re: Tracking etc.

        I am sure that there are both pros and cons with Uber and Taxi.

        Cheers

        • If it happens during the trip you still have no choice unless you want to get out and then wait for another taxi to arrive and then pay the flagfall on that new taxi.

          Having a receipt does very little, the driver will claim many things including

          1. Passenger needed to stop for mcdonalds
          2. Passenger wanted to take a certain route
          3. There was heavy traffic/road block etc

          And so on.

          While sometimes taxi drivers can be stupid enough to scam you in a way that is blatant enough to win a complaint, most of the time they are smart enough to get away with it.

        • @samfisher5986:

          Fair enough.

          It seems like the complete ride-sharing / taxi industry has to put more protections in place for non-repudiation.

          From my experiences, both Uber & Cab has been OK … so far!

          Cheers

  • +1

    I relally wish there was a competitor to Uber in Australia because these guys are the worst.

    There is a heap of ride-sharing options now. Taxify is a big one in Melb/Syd.

    • Big is probably not the right word… but they are around.
      Given the amount of discounts they are giving if they do not get increased passenger numbers quickly i doubt they will last.

      Ola has launched but according to fin review… not doing so well but "is confident of success"
      Lyft is launching in Melbourne and Sydney in August (apparently the pay is far better than Uber)

      • Well 'big' as in the 2nd largest ride sharing company around in Australia. Is that better?

        Lyft hasn't left the USA, It won't be here anytime soon. So would love to see your 'source' on this.

      • Lyft is launching in Melbourne and Sydney in August (apparently the pay is far better than Uber)

        hope they don't do there stupid version of uber-pool

  • -2

    Taxis don’t have your CC in file and you can see the metered fare. Stick with the self funded retirees and the taxis.

    • The self funded retirees and taxis can stick it.

      • So can the drop kicks in Uber acting like entitled farkwits.

  • +1

    There is a competitor called taxify and they have 40% off this week

  • Thanks, I’ll give that a go.

  • Taxify, GoCatch, Shebah (if you're a girl), Scooti. These are some alternatives. May not be where you are, but they exist. Also public transport and walking are great options!

  • Merged from Wrong fee is being charged by Uber

    I took a trip from Airport to home via Uber yesterday where I got charged higher than normal amount at end of trip. When I checked the toll and fee section had additional charge of $20.

    I have reached out to Uber and they are saying I was overcharged due to technical issue and looking to organise a refund.

    Has anyone experienced similar issue in past or is it UBER's new tactic to make money?

    This is also kind of warning to other OzBargain members. Always check your charges at end of trip.

    • Has anyone experienced similar issue in past or is it UBER's new tactic to make money?

      Fairly certain uber don't make any money off the tolls they just pass the cost of the toll to the driver.

      • They do if they charge $20 for a toll that cost them $2.40…

    • Yep, thats what they do now.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/368862

    • Yes a couple of years back I got double charged the tolls through CityLink heading home. I contacted them and they refunded me after a couple of days.

    • What city? What should have the toll been?

      but basically

      and looking to organise a refund.

      Why the need for a post then?

      • +1

        To warn other people.

  • +2

    I'm bumping this post because I regularly get ubers from Sydney airport to Rozelle and they always charge me for tolls even if they didn't take the toll road.

    Last night my driver took me a route that you should never take as it takes much longer but it basically tracks the western distributor. He was deliberately trying to trick the GPS system in to getting $20 extra dollars. I noticed but I'm now on my 5th email to Uber and still haven't been fully refunded. Not only is the driver acting fraudulently but Uber are by not refunding the fees that were incorrectly charged.

  • I'm also bumping this post because I just took an Uber and he deliberately took a longer and more expensive route via a toll road.

    I tried to raise it with Uber's app feedback but, they keep giving me this stupid reply being all like "the trip was within the parameters"

    • Uber is the devil, now that they have established themselves and we are all brainwashed into using them, they are deliberately ripping us off and making it impossible to dispute a fare.
      We need to use Ola and go back to taxis.
      Always remember that with surge pricing a taxi will either be the same price or cheaper than an Uber but the driver can get you there without using a manipulated GPS.

  • I did have a Uber ride the other day which they charged Melbourne M1 tolls twice, I don't know it's the driver or their system, but I complaint and also show them similar trip a week ago and Uber refunded the additional tolls.

  • In case anyone else finds this thread, we had an incorrect toll charged to us from Uber. When I questioned it, they initially claimed there was no toll then after seeing the line item, refused to provide a refund as the final amount fit within their estimate. I told them I had no other choice but to escalate through Fair Trading and submitted a claim. After a few days, Uber contacted me and provided a full refund.

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