Thirsty Uber passenger dumbfounded after £10 pub trip results in bill for £35,000
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An Uber passenger was charged more than £35,000 for a 15-minute journey after the destination was accidentally set to Australia. Oliver Kaplan, 22, unknowingly set off on what turned out to be a very expensive Uber ride, as he went to meet some friends for a drink after work.
The trainee chef was quoted around £10 for the four-mile trip between pubs in Greater Manchester but he woke up to a nasty surprise the next morning. “I ordered an Uber like I do most nights on the way home from work and everything seemed normal,” Oliver said.
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Hide Ad“The driver arrived, I got in the Uber and he took me exactly where I was meant to be going. “It was a 15-minute journey - tops - and the bill was said to be between £10 and £11, charged to my debit card. But when I woke up hungover the next morning, the last thing I expected was a charge of over £35,000!”
Oliver, from Hyde, contacted Uber’s customer service as soon as he made the shocking discovery, and it left the worker stumped. After some investigating over the phone, it was found the bill was so extortionate because the drop-off location was set to… Australia.
According to Manchester World, Uber then adjusted Oliver’s fare from £35,427.97 to the real amount of £10.73 before the money came out of his bank account.
Oliver said: “It said the amount couldn’t be taken because I had insufficient funds. If I had that sort of money, I would have had to chase them for a refund - it could have landed me in all sorts of financial trouble.
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Hide Ad“I’m still wondering how the location was even set to Australia in the first place, seeing it is on the other side of the globe,” he added. “Thankfully they were really good about it, and made it right straight away - but it was a stressful half an hour, to say the least.”
In response to the incident, Uber said: “As soon as this issue was raised on Oliver’s account we immediately corrected the fare. We’re very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
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