Taxi Driver Online

Uber driver charged mum £55 after son was sick on way to Birmingham Children's Hospital

An angry mum has attacked Uber for charging her £55 after her young son was sick in a cab on the way to hospital. Jessica Hunter says the 'clean-up fee' was taken from her account without warning.

He son Elijah, aged three, had been suffering seizures and was undergoing brain scans at Birmingham Children's Hospital. His mum had ordered a cab to take them for treatment from their home in Olton, near Solihull.

But towards the end of the £10.50 fare journey Elijah was sick in the car. His mum says she cleaned it up using baby wipes, with the Uber driver happy with her efforts.

Yet Jessica, aged 29, a cleaner in a rehabilitation centre, says she was later hit with a cleaning bill for the incident from Uber. It later refunded £40 after she complained.

Jessica told BirminghamLive: "I explained to the Uber driver what had happened and that I had cleaned up the mess. He took a look and said he was happy. I have used Ubers many times and I have never had a problem before.

"But just over a week later I discovered £55 had been taken out of my account without warning. I was furious.

"I contacted Uber who said the amount taken was to pay for the cleaning of the cab after Elijah was sick. They then sent me a picture of a filthy cab, there was no sign of sick as I had cleaned it up.

"In the end they paid me £40 back but kept £15 for 'cleaning services.' It really has left me with a sour taste in my mouth."

Uber told BirminghamLive it would be investigating the incident. A spokesperson: “We are sorry that the rider had a poor experience and we are currently investigating what happened in this instance.

"For licensed drivers who use the app, their vehicles are their place of work and any damage or mess can mean they are unable to continue working. When a driver claims a cleaning fee, they are required to provide us with the details of the trip, the passengers and the incident itself as well as photographic evidence and a validated cleaning receipt which our support team then investigates."

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IDFIMH

if the sick was on the carpet or seats I suspect additional valeting work could well have been necessary

or the driver chatted with other ufails and found out he could make a bit extra on the fare

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Usually Uber drivers take a photo and that's what leads to the extra charge.

Maybe the driver had to finish the clear up and try to get rid of the smell.

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IDFIMH

You can't get rid of sick on upholstery or carpets with baby wipes alone. They should be cleaned properly with the right stuff.

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Grandad,

My mother-in-law worked in the cleaning industry and she gave me some stuff many years ago that neutralised all smells.

Amazing stuff that had drivers calling me whenever someone spewed up in their motors.

Have never been able to get it again.

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IDFIMH

probably an industrial strength version of Febreze in which case it is probably only available through specialist companies

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector