A volunteer for the NHS said she felt “extremely disappointed” with Uber customer service when she tried to dispute a £43 fare for a 1.4-mile journey.
Jessica Swatman volunteers at Hull Royal Infirmary. On Monday, July 14, she booked an Uber to take her two children to school and nursery, 0.4 mile and 0.97 mile trips respectively, then onward to the hospital.
Although Jessica was shocked when the advertised fare was £18, she put this down to it being rush hour at 8:14am and went ahead with the booking to avoid being late for her volunteer shift.
But the journey did not go as planned, and Jessica described traffic as being “at a standstill”. She said: “At this point after 10 minutes of not moving I asked the driver if it was OK if we end the trip and I would get out and walk home as the traffic wasn’t moving at all.
“I had only booked a taxi to get my children to nursery and school on time and me to my shift on time, but it was clear I wasn’t going to make it to my shift on time now anyway.” The trip ended at 9:06am, as shown in screenshots from the Uber app shared with Hull Daily Mail.
Jessica said “it was at this point I realised that it said £43.64”. She said she was “in shock” at the fee, but the “driver assured me that it would re-calculate as we hadn’t actually done the trip to Hull Royal”.
Unfortunately, Jessica said she was charged for the full £43.64. After she claims she was unable to lodge a complaint on the app, she eventually found a contact number and called the Uber help centre.
But after speaking to two advisors on separate occasions who reportedly said the matter would be investigated and she would receive an email, Jessica claimed she received no emails, including in her spam folder.
Hull Daily Mail contacted Uber who said it would issue a refund. However, Jessica said she felt “extremely disappointed” by the experience and would not use Uber again.
An Uber spokesperson said: “We are always happy to review a trip and provide a fare adjustment where appropriate. In this case we have refunded the rider concerned as a gesture of good will.”