Rideshare Drivers' Payments Being Delayed Because Of Third-Party Company
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - It's a fare freeze. Some Sacramento-area Uber and Lyft drivers are saying they're not getting paid. The Representatives Uber and Lyft attribute this to a technical problem with a third-party company that was closed for the holiday.
We spoke with some drivers about trying to get their money back.
"I know there's a lot of other people in this position," said a driver.
We spoke with two area rideshare drivers who say they are owed more than $500 in rideshare money each.
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"As soon as we log off, we're supposed to be paid," said one driver.
These women, Darlene and Lily, didn't want to show their faces on camera, for fear of being penalized by the company. Representatives from Lyft say that would never happen.
She says thousands of drivers across the country have taken to social media to try to get answers from the company on why there is a freeze on getting paid.
"There's a lot of drivers from coast to coast talking about the exact same problem, not with just Lyft, but with Uber also. So there's millions of dollars of our money just floating around right now," said Darlene.
These drivers wonder how both apps could be experiencing the same problem at the same time. They worry this could be retaliation for Assembly Bill (AB) 5 , which went into effect today. It aims to protect rideshare drivers from labor laws. This is something representatives from both companies say is not true.
"Earlier this week, drivers using Instant Pay experienced a processing interruption due to MasterCard that delayed them from depositing funds into bank accounts. All impacted drivers were notified about this delay, and the technical issue you're referring to has been resolved. Most importantly, all impacted drivers will be able to access and deposit funds through Instant Pay for previously accrued earnings during the interruption." - Uber spokesperson"We have received reports of delayed Express Pay transactions due to an issue involving a third-party vendor as well as the holiday yesterday. Drivers have started receiving successful deposits today, depending on their bank's processing time. This is in no way related to AB5, nor do drivers ever face any retaliation whatsoever for speaking to the media. Any implication otherwise is entirely false.
" - Lyft Spokesperson.
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"We're starting to wonder if they haven't teamed up on some level and are playing the game together," said Darlene.
On Monday, Uber and Postmates joined two contractors working for rideshare apps and filed a lawsuit against the state of California, calling AB 5 unconstitutional.
"Now, of course, they're going to do a lawsuit; they're getting rich off of us," said Darlene.
