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Uber Accused of Scamming Customers With Unjust Cleaning Fees

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Photo: FreeStocks

Brian Grubb, a professional wakeskater, posted a rant to Facebook last week. His frustration? Uber allegedly scammed him into paying astronomical fees, cleaning and otherwise, for damages he was not responsible for.

This accusation comes shortly after Uber’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, resigned from his position in June to help mend the brand’s broken reputation.

“Trip was normal,” Grubb explained in his post. “5 hours later I got an $80 charge for a cleaning fee […] I did not spill anything in this car and the back seat was in perfect condition when we exited the car.” The driver’s photos, attached to the post, show liquid stains on the rear seating. Grubb goes on to explain that he is a long-time Uber customer with a high rating on the app.

Grub claims to have conducted research on the topic, finding that drivers have been scamming customers with fees like this for some time now. However, Grubb has not presented any of his research to the public. He claims Uber is aware of the issue and yet, does nothing. In his correspondence with Uber, Grubb says the ride-sharing company abruptly stopped responding when he asked how many times this particular driver had collected “cleaning fees.”

“The only way to prevent this from happening to you is to take a picture of the backseat area when you finish a trip,” Grubb warned, attaching the photographs of his supposed damages. “Uber will always side with the driver if you don’t have the photo with metadata to prove it’s the driver scamming you.”

Grubb later commented on his post several times, updating people of the ever-evolving situation. Grubb had been reprimanded for harassing the driver. “Now I am being reported by the driver for harassment because of this post,” Grubb said, attaching a screenshot of the email from Uber.. The email explained that if the behavior continues, Grubb risks being banned from the app entirely.

In addition to the email and cleaning fee, an unauthorized $60 charge came through on Grubb’s credit card; it has yet to be determined whether or not this charge was intended to be a fee for the harassment accusations. “This is insane Uber!” Grubb tagged them in his comment. “What the hell is going on?!”

At this time, Uber has not publicly commented on the incident.

In situations like this, it’s a classic case of he-said-she-said. If you are concerned about unjust charges, be sure to take photos of the vehicle before and after your ride.

Source: Brian Grubb (Facebook)