A North Texas Family Gets Outrageous Uber Charge
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Taken for a ride, a DFW family is in shock after discovering a near $400 Uber charge after their first Dallas Cowboys game.
Laurie Smith said about an hour after the Eagles game on October 30th, she requested an Uber XL for her family to get home to Keller.
The trip to AT&T stadium cost them about $40 earlier in the day.
But the 20-mile, 30-minute trip home ended up costing them $362.81
"It's literally highway robbery," said Smith. "I just thought it was a rip off. I mean, how could you charge nine times the amount I paid to drive one place to hear just to go back."
Smith said their Uber driver first drove them to the wrong side of Arlington, then rerouted back to their home in Keller.
The charge did not appear until after they got out of the vehicle.
"I could have taken a stretch limo if I wanted," said Smith.
After sending several emails and reporting the ride, Uber offered to refund $79.
Uber told Smith there was "surge pricing" that night. Smith said there was no warning of it on her phone or app.
"I'm familiar with the surge charges, I've had one before," said Smith.
What she does not understand, Smith's Uber app shows after the refund, she was charged $283.81 cents. But further down on the trip details and receipt, it shows the total that night was $43.36 with no mention or explanation of surge charges.
"If they had told us that, we would have never gotten in the car. We could have gotten a taxi," said Smith.
Smith said it is not about the money, but about warning others.
"There might be some young couple who spent all of their money to get tickets here and then they're going to get ripped off by Uber," said Smith. "It's going to ruin their time."
After several emails, a spokesperson responded and said it looks like there was surge pricing. Uber is now checking to see if the user was properly warned or if any other issues arose from the ride.
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