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Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

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Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#31

Post by friendzis »

ryanbrunner wrote: post #3

The comments point out a perfectly reasonable explanation for why this charge might exist: One reason that drivers can specify for a cancellation is that the rider wasn't at the pickup location. Even though it's the driver cancelling in this case, it's reasonable for Uber to charge the rider in my opinion. If this is the case, the poster is still being improperly charged the fee, but it's more about the driver lying…

Ride cancellation messages can easily have location attached and Uber can check if the cancellation location more or less matches requested arrival location. If they do not even send location - it's negligence. If they do send the location, but do not check it and still charge rider - it's malice. They have the tools.

Conspiracy theory: maybe showing that they actually have the tools could be unfavourable to them when/if the regulations are placed?

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#32

Post by scurvy »

ryanbrunner wrote: post #3

The comments point out a perfectly reasonable explanation for why this charge might exist: One reason that drivers can specify for a cancellation is that the rider wasn't at the pickup location. Even though it's the driver cancelling in this case, it's reasonable for Uber to charge the rider in my opinion. If this is the case, the poster is still being improperly charged the fee, but it's more about the driver lying…

Uber's GPS and navigation data is such trash that this is halfway believable excuse. As a destination, Uber thinks I live halfway down the block on another street. It's not a convenience thing either. It's down a hill. It's flat out wrong. Lyft doesn't have this problem.

I have a friend who works at Uber on Second, and he says the same things happens to Uber at their own office. It sends the drivers to the wrong alley.

Conclusion? Bad data and drivers who don't know where they are actually going equals a bad experience.

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#33

Post by danpalmer »

leephillips wrote: post #29

What's wrong with taxis? I've taken plenty of cabs, but never an Uber or Lyft. In a city you can easily flag them down, or find a number and phone for one. Many cab companies have had phone apps for years, too. If you prefer Uber, can you explain why? Because there are tons of complaints here about the company.

Speaking for London, the only taxis that you can hail are "black cabs" which are very heavily regulated (and generally high quality), but 2-3x the price of an uberX. You can book a taxi from a local taxi company, but that's typically over the phone, and ideally needs to be done in advance, they are often ~1.5x the price of an uberX.

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#34

Post by endisukaj »

leephillips wrote: post #29

What's wrong with taxis? I've taken plenty of cabs, but never an Uber or Lyft. In a city you can easily flag them down, or find a number and phone for one. Many cab companies have had phone apps for years, too. If you prefer Uber, can you explain why? Because there are tons of complaints here about the company.

Uber is sometimes cheaper and Uber drivers have an incentive to provide a better service because if they don't their rating goes down. Taxi drivers don't care because they don't have a rating and will be rude, overcharge or take longer routes than needed to make you pay more.

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#35

Post by waqf »

qeternity wrote: post #22
chii wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what happens when things are unregulated. But oh, regulation causes high fees/cost, and so it's ok to ignore! Until of course, when it isn't.

No it's not. He stated that he went to the regulator and complained and they dismissed it. He actually received remedy from his credit card, which is not a regulatory requirement but rather the free market at work.

Is there really an effective market in credit cards' willingness to refund? Aren't credit cards preferred mostly because regulation require them to refund the user in a lot of cases?

(Also, what's with that weird US regulation about a purchase having to be "within my home state or within 100 miles of my home" to be eligible for some credit card protections?)

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#36

Post by Broken_Hippo »

leephillips wrote: post #29

What's wrong with taxis? I've taken plenty of cabs, but never an Uber or Lyft. In a city you can easily flag them down, or find a number and phone for one. Many cab companies have had phone apps for years, too. If you prefer Uber, can you explain why? Because there are tons of complaints here about the company.

To be perfectly honest, cab service in some smaller places is horrendous. For example, do you meed to get to work by 9:00am tomorrow morning? You gotta call about 6:30-7:am. It might take them 15 minutes to pick you up or two hours and you cannot order in advance. There are no places to flag them down, so you always have to order one. Oddly enough, I've found these poor cabs mostly in places with no other public transportation. This sort of things plays games with a lifestyle. A trip to the GP can easily go from an hour-long short visit to taking up most of one's workday. In these places, I'd have welcomed the choice, even though I find it more risky than a cab.

That said, in places with good taxi service (where I*m at, for instance), there isn't a reason to switch.

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#37

Post by rwmj »

elahd wrote: post #15

I've been in standoffs with Uber/Lyft drivers where the driver calls or texts me saying they don't want to pick me up for whatever reason and demand that I cancel the hail. Drivers don't want to be the ones who cancel because canceling reduces their rating. I don't want to cancel because I both don't want the hit to my rating and I don't want to have to follow up with Uber/Lyft to request a cancellation fee refund. L…

I wouldn't say the $1000 dollar fine was a waste of time. It seems like a good result (not for you in particular, but for taxi users in general).

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#38

Post by leephillips »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #36
leephillips wrote: post #29

What's wrong with taxis? I've taken plenty of cabs, but never an Uber or Lyft. In a city you can easily flag them down, or find a number and phone for one. Many cab companies have had phone apps for years, too. If you prefer Uber, can you explain why? Because there are tons of complaints here about the company.

To be perfectly honest, cab service in some smaller places is horrendous. For example, do you meed to get to work by 9:00am tomorrow morning? You gotta call about 6:30-7:am. It might take them 15 minutes to pick you up or two hours and you cannot order in advance. There are no places to flag them down, so you always have to order one. Oddly enough, I've found these poor cabs mostly in places with no other public tran…

Thanks, that explains quite a bit. I assume that what's unsaid is that in these smaller places Uber is available and fills the niche left unfilled by public transport and taxis. This I did not know.

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#39

Post by Overtonwindow »

I've finally deleted Uber and it's primarily because of the tipping issue. I've had almost universal good service around the world with Uber drivers, but the tipping thing is getting aggressive, and subtle hints are rapidly become overt demands. Uber was great when it started but government corruption and meddling, combined with Uber's greed, and the corrupt taxi industry fighting it, is killing the service. Small improvements could go a long way:

Add tipping in the app; ban cash tips. Require drivers to rate passengers BEFORE they get those tips.

No cancellation fee for anyone if cancelled within 10 minutes. After ten minutes whomever cancels, pays, period. Uber knows when it's inconvenient for someone to pick someone up due to traffic. The data is there.

Require background checks on all drivers. Why is this even an issue? Uber should pay for it.

Increase the amount drivers get. Seriously it's ridiculous how little drivers make.

Re: Uber is charging passengers a $10 cancellation fee even when the driver cancels

#40

Post by Overtonwindow »

leephillips wrote: post #29

What's wrong with taxis? I've taken plenty of cabs, but never an Uber or Lyft. In a city you can easily flag them down, or find a number and phone for one. Many cab companies have had phone apps for years, too. If you prefer Uber, can you explain why? Because there are tons of complaints here about the company.

Depends on the location. NYC taxis are generally pretty good. In DC? No. Especially if you're handicapped, a person of color, or in an area they don't like. Blind wit a service animal? You are SOL. Taxi's will flat out ignore you. They will drive painfully slow and drive in circles to run up the fare. Back when DC required cabs to take credit cards, the taxis would fight and say the machine is broken, or just not follow the law. These are the issues that pushed me away from taxis. I'd much rather deal with corporate Uber than government Taxi Commission.
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