Taxi Driver Online

Uber cancellation charge: The 'lost' drivers pocketing £5 without taking you anywhere



Taxi app Uber revolutionised how Brits travel around cities like London, Leeds and Bristol. But beware the rogue drivers charging something for nothing

City-dwelling Brits have jumped on board the Uber bandwagon since the low-cost taxi service launched here in 2012.

But The Mirror has heard from passengers who feel the driver was more interested in charging cancellation fees than getting them from A to B.

The £5 cancellation fee

If you request a taxi through Uber, you have 5 minutes to cancel the journey without charge.

But after 5 minutes, you’ll be charged a small cancellation fee. It’s designed to compensate drivers for wasting their time.

Some drivers are too quick to cancel

Cheaper than an old-school cab... most of the time at least

•"Taxi driver couldn't find my hotel so told me to book another Uber. I wasn't aware I would get charged for the cancellation." - Amy Hutchinson, Leeds

•"The driver said he couldn't locate me so he cancelled the taxi. I got charged £5 for this. I requested another Uber and he arrived within a minute. I don't feel it is fair I was charged when I was there but the taxi didn't come." - Emily Turner, Coulsdon

The platform connects private hire drivers with those of us looking for a ride. As well as a local authority licence, drivers must have the correct insurance and pass Uber’s own tests.

While many cancellations may be the result of genuine confusion, some Mirror readers felt they were deliberately being charged.

'I saw the car leave - then he cancelled my trip'

Who is cancelling on who?

•"I booked via Uber for a car to get home. I noticed that the driver was only 3 minutes away so I made my way out of where I was to meet the driver. A couple of minutes later, I saw the car but was on its way out of the parking area. And 30 seconds after that, he cancelled the trip and charged me £5 for it! He didn't even call me to find out where I was!" Allan Pisador, London

•"I have been charged £5, even though the driver stopped the taxi halfway through our journey as he had picked us up by accident. He would not continue the journey unless we rebooked. We argued that he allowed us into his car and we thought he was our driver. The police were called and agreed I was correct. But the driver was making it very uncomfortable for us and told us to get out." - Melissa Crozier, London

•"The driver forced me to cancel the ride at the end of the journey. He told that his system was not working Afterwards, we realised we had been charged a £7 cancellation fee for a completed journey and paid £41 for a 17 mile ride. I think the driver misled us." - Laszlone Szabo, London

An Uber spokesman said: “We are doing millions on trips a month, so in context these issues are very rare.”

How to get your cancellation charge back

According to the Uber spokesman: “On the occasions that a cancellation fee is charged if it is not the rider’s fault they simply need to reply to the receipt and they will get a refund.”

source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/uber-canc ... rs-5970406

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

The driver is only eligible for a cancellation fee, if all the following criteria are met (I believe):

1. They arrive at the pick up point (which the passenger enters manually, or uses their phone's GPS to locate where they are)

2. The driver has to press "Arrived" on their PDA/Phone (and they're unable to do this if they're not at the pick up point)

3. The passenger doesn't turn up within five minutes.

It is the passenger's responsibility to ensure they either enter the correct pick up location, or ensure the GPS on their phone is accurate (why should it be the driver's fault?).

Furthermore they can see the driver arriving, and their location as the car is tracked on their phone, and when the driver presses "Arrived" on their PDA/phone, the passenger is also notified on their phone, and that's when the five minutes start.

The article states if the cancellation fee is not the rider's fault they can reply to the receipt (so they're notified if they're charged), and they'll get a refund.

I don't see it as a problem.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all got a fiver every time we had a no show?

Especially from the utter c**** that ring two or three firms at a time.

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IDFIMH