Uber overcharges American couple, slaps $30k for a $55 ride
What's the story
A conversion mixup ruined a woman's vacation in Costa Rica. An American couple alleged they were charged nearly $30,000 for an Uber ride that should have only cost $55. The woman identified as Dominique on TikTok, shared a video where she explained the ordeal she and her husband Douglas Ordonez had to go through with no proper action from the Uber team.
Incident
Here's what happened
Dominique was on vacation in Costa Rica and had to make a trip in between. She chose an Uber because it was more convenient than taking a local taxi. The total cost of the trip was $55 (Rs 4,500 approx). The following day, she found that she had been charged $29,994 (nearly Rs 24,800,000) when she started seeing dollars disappearing from her bank account.
Currency mixup
Currency mixup
The amount was 29,994 Costa Rican colones, meant to be converted to $55.32, but they were charged in US dollars. "Uber charged me $29,994 USD for a Uber ride in Costa Rica. They did not convert that into the Costa Rican currency $54 USD," shared Ordonez in a tweet. Ordonez shared a screenshot showing the negative balance in his bank account following the transaction.
Twitter Post
Check out the tweet
Uber charged me $29,994 USD for a Uber ride in Costa Rica. They did not convert that into the Costa Rican currency $54 USD. Altura credit union allowed this charge to process and Uber is not complying. Now I’m in Guatemala with a negative balance on my 5 year anniversary. #uber pic.twitter.com/UGgZHXYjF8
— Douglas Ordonez (@DOJ_111) June 29, 2023
Uber failed to respond
No further assistance was provided to them
Dominique in her TikTok video shared that she struggled to persuade her bank Altura credit union and Uber that she had been charged incorrectly while having insufficient funds. She had been trying to get in touch with Uber customer service. But all she got in response was "Do not worry." According to her, the company did not provide any further assistance.
Experience
Reaching out to Uber had no result
Dominique claimed that she and her partner were constantly trying to message Uber for a response, but in vain. Meanwhile, her financial institution asked her to wait for another four days for the amount to possibly convert to the correct amount. "Cannot believe they allowed payment of this amount to process. Failed security measures & negligence," Dominique shared.
Lesson learned
'Lesson learned for sure,' says Dominique
The couple reportedly waited for 24 hours for Uber to respond post the incident. The charge caused Dominique's debit card to have a significant negative balance, forcing her to put the vacation on hold. "I've traveled all over the world and have never had an issue until now. Lesson learned for sure," she wrote beneath the video.
Follow-up
After reversing the charge Altura sent her an apology email
In a follow-up video after several days, Dominique said that Altura informed her that due to a travel notice on her card, the charge bypassed security measures and policies. "All of a sudden the charge was fixed. The charge was reversed. I ended up getting all my money back," she said. Dominique received Altura's apology email regarding the conversion mix-up upon receiving the funds.