Uber charge

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I took uber with a friend one Saturday night, and we decided to meet up at a usual meeting spot and then take uber from there. So the ride there charged me about $20. When we left the bar at 2am, I guess uber raises the fare rate a lot higher because they know a lot of people request uber at that time on a Saturday. So, my friend said don’t request it bc it’s too high and that we should just wait until the fare rate goes down. Her friend wanted to leave bc we were waiting outside and it was really cold so she gave me a $20 bill and said to just do the uber, so I did. My phone battery was really low, my friend and her friend were really drunk (I wasn’t - I rarely drink but still wanted to take uber bc of the city we were going to) and when the uber driver called bc they were near, he had a thick accent and couldn’t find us but kept saying ‘I’m right here’, so I was getting frustrated with him and kind of gave an attitude bc I was annoyed.

Anyway, when I got home I looked at my email and my uber receipt was $131.99! I was in shock by this amount. So the next day I was telling a friend and she mentioned maybe to call or something but I don’t think there’s any number to call so I emailed and asked if this was the right amount it should be. They emailed me back and said that they noticed it was off by quite a few and told me they refunded me $35. But, it was still $96.

I told co workers at work and they were all shocked about this amount too, and one of the girls mentioned that i should call my bank and they can dispute the charge. So, I did call my bank’s customer service line and made a request to dispute the charge. I’m still waiting to see what the outcome is bc they are doing the investigation. But they told me for now they will temporarily put back the $96 into my account.

My question is, if the bank decides to cancel that charge and give me back my full amount ($96) I paid, is that ok? Bc that price might be the accurate amount but I was just really shocked by that amount.
 
I heard there was a lot of uproar over this. Live by the market, die by the market. Uber may be cheaper most of the time, but peak times will result in this sort of fluctuation. Also, I do not doubt, they will lose customers over this, and maybe gain competitors.
 
I’ve heard of uber but never used them…do they use a meter to calculate the fare or is it a set agreed price that they tell you before the journey?

If its a set price and you wasn’t quoted that high amount then definitely dispute it as they are ripping you off…

If it is a meter then you need to know do they start the meter when they set off to collect you or when you get in the uber car?..because that high total indicates that they may have started the meter when the driver set off to collect you and when he was calling you to ask where you were to find you the meter could have be racking up more and more charges…

These are all questions you need to get answered before you work out how to proceed next…

I do agree that it is a very high total and If I was given the bill myself I’d be doing the same as you…its a lot of money to lose if they have made any kind of mistake
 
Let me start by saying I’ve never used uber and I have a limited knowledge of its services. That said, in my opinion, you certainly owe something for the ride. And that amount is whatever uber’s rate is based on their pricing structure.
Did they tell you what the fare was going to be before you got into the car?
Did you know they have a supply/demand pricing structure?
Did you know when you exited the car what your fare was?

These answers, I believe, are each party’s responsibility. They may not tell you what the fare is going to be, but you certainly have the right and obligation to ask and find out.

I’ve heard many people crack on uber for charging different rates for different times. Some call it price gouging. To me, it is no different than buying a coke or a beer or a hot dog at a ball game. What costs less than a buck at home will cost you between 5 and 10 at the stadium. Is that price gouging? Some may say yes, but I believe it is more an example of the free market at work. They charge 8 bucks for a hot dog at the stadium because people will and do pay it. It doesn’t make it wrong, just reality.

I can’t speak for the church, but only what is right and wrong. You used a service, you owe their fee based on their fare structure. If $96 stings for what cost you $20 a few hours earlier, well lesson learned. As I was once told, “if this is the worst thing that ever happens to you, consider your self very fortunate.” That should put this into perspective.
 
I’ll throw in a little Latin. Not exactly Church Latin, but it works:

Caveat emptor.

The funny thing is, I have frequent dreams about stuff exactly like this situation. In the dreams, I’ll be in a store buying something, or I’ll agree to pay for something, etc., and suddenly the bill is astronomically higher than what I can afford to pay. :eek:

Then I’ll sort of wake up enough to realize, “thank goodness it’s only a dream.” 😛
 
I am surprised by this. I use Uber and am quite happy with their services.

Usually the price should not come as a surprise. The fare should appear when you book a ride.
 
This is currently a big issue in all the major Australian cities over the New Years period also. My daughter rang us to be a taxi for her and her friends at 1am on New Years because Uber quoted them $200 for what would normally be a $30 trip! Nothing can justify that.
 
on_the_hill said:
I’ll throw in a little Latin. Not exactly Church Latin, but it works:

Caveat emptor.

The funny thing is, I have frequent dreams about stuff exactly like this situation. In the dreams, I’ll be in a store buying something, or I’ll agree to pay for something, etc., and suddenly the bill is astronomically higher than what I can afford to pay. :eek:

Then I’ll sort of wake up enough to realize, “thank goodness it’s only a dream.” 😛
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About 20 years ago when Italy still had lira’s my mother in law bought a lace tablecloth in Venice thinking she was paying $90 for it. When she returned home and looked at her credit card statement, she discovered she’d miscalculated the conversion and it had cost $900. That tablecloth has never been used!
 
You’ve learned a couple of expensive lessons.
  1. Know the terms of service before using the service. Negotiate your rates. Price compare fares beforehand. Know taxi rates vs uber, some cities have flat rate zones for cabs. Do you homework.
  2. Uber is a concierge service and is priced accordingly
  3. Don’t let drunk friends run the show. And if you know prices ahead of time you can require friends to pay an adequate share up front instead of having to go back to them and ask for more-- which is what you need to do now.
  4. Buyer’s remorse does not negate a legal and moral obligation to pay what you owe. Don’t listen to friends who give bad advice like trying to stop payment.
 
Minion_w_a_drum said:
I’ve heard many people crack on uber for charging different rates for different times. Some call it price gouging. To me, it is no different than buying a coke or a beer or a hot dog at a ball game. What costs less than a buck at home will cost you between 5 and 10 at the stadium. Is that price gouging? Some may say yes, but I believe it is more an example of the free market at work. They charge 8 bucks for a hot dog at the stadium because people will and do pay it. It doesn’t make it wrong, just reality.
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I’d liken it to airline tickets. You can pay a wildly different price based on when you travel, when you buy your tickets, and other factors. The discipline is called Revenue Management. Its practice has a lot of advantages in my opinion. But people are often outraged at what they consider an unfairness. It is worth noting the outrage is only over not paying the lower price. They are never outraged at not paying the higher price.
 
Fifteen years ago, at the turn of the millennium, my wife and I attend a wonderful ball at an upscale hotel. Most of my co-workers however opted to work. The pricing for off-duty officer sky-rocketed that year $100 - 150 an hour. Now that could have been view as price gouging, but I do not see it as such. Why? What is being offered was much, much more than just security. What the officers were offering was their willingness to forgo an event that would occur once in their life. Had the price been locked, the result would have been that events would have to be cancelled for lack of security as many more people would have opted to enjoy themselves instead of working. Likewise, the employees that work these events drive up their cost. They must. Otherwise the result will be insufficient people for an event.

If, as one short-sighted councilman wanted, fares could be capped at double the normal rate, then sure some people will save some money. However, the result will also be that most people will be stranded as drivers simply decline to work and celebrate the holiday themselves. We can try and manipulate markets, but in areas with a true market economy, the result will always be a shortage.
 
One of the downsides of taking Uber is that they can charge whatever they want for peak times, even outrageous amounts.
 
pnewton said:
Fifteen years ago, at the turn of the millennium, my wife and I attend a wonderful ball at an upscale hotel. Most of my co-workers however opted to work. The pricing for off-duty officer sky-rocketed that year $100 - 150 an hour. Now that could have been view as price gouging, but I do not see it as such. Why? What is being offered was much, much more than just security. What the officers were offering was their willingness to forgo an event that would occur once in their life. Had the price been locked, the result would have been that events would have to be cancelled for lack of security as many more people would have opted to enjoy themselves instead of working. Likewise, the employees that work these events drive up their cost. They must. Otherwise the result will be insufficient people for an event.
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It is the same with food and water after a storm. There will locally be a limited supply. By charging higher prices people will naturally ration their existing supplies and any new purchases. This is good. Higher prices will make it profitable for suppliers to import supplies from more distant markets. But this is called price gouging and made illegal in many places. The result is a shortage. The shortage may be resolved by the government which is then viewed favorably despite the fact that by interfering with the market they created the problem.

The market is most efficient at allocating resources given people’s preferences. It doesn’t solve the problem of greed, in this case consumer greed. That is a moral problem best solved by the Church.
 
The cost of doing business when ones business is hanging with drunk people…

Perhaps a cab would have been cheaper.
 
exnihilo said:
It is the same with food and water after a storm. There will locally be a limited supply. By charging higher prices people will naturally ration their existing supplies and any new purchases. This is good. Higher prices will make it profitable for suppliers to import supplies from more distant markets. But this is called price gouging and made illegal in many places. The result is a shortage.
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The two situations are similar. There is one difference. In the case of the storm, a case of water that cost three dollars and is sold for four, still costs three dollars if it is sold for twenty. In the case of having people work on a special occasion, the cost, that is what the service person is giving up, is great. The time spent may be the same, but the sacrifice in terms of personal life is greater.
 
pnewton said:
The two situations are similar. There is one difference. In the case of the storm, a case of water that cost three dollars and is sold for four, still costs three dollars if it is sold for twenty. In the case of having people work on a special occasion, the cost, that is what the service person is giving up, is great. The time spent may be the same, but the sacrifice in terms of personal life is greater.
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The cost of an item is just the price you paid at a moment in time. Due to different factors prices change. There isn’t some intrinsic cost for any good except in Marxist and a few other economic theories. The same logic isn’t applied when we make a windfall from selling a stock at a high percentage over what we purchased it for.
 
exnihilo said:
The cost of an item is just the price you paid at a moment in time. .
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Then from that point of view, there is no comparison at all, as goods (which have a cost for the retailer) cannot be compared with a service (which do not cost the retailer).
 
pnewton said:
Then from that point of view, there is no comparison at all, as goods (which have a cost for the retailer) cannot be compared with a service (which do not cost the retailer).
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There is no reason a retailer couldn’t also be the manufacturer. There is no reason to try to draw a sharp distinction between goods and services. All manufacturing requires labor which is all that a service is.
 
exnihilo said:
There is no reason a retailer couldn’t also be the manufacturer. There is no reason to try to draw a sharp distinction between goods and services.
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Sure there is. Goods are not tied to the time they were made, as a rule. There is no overtime, no double time, not holiday pay. A widget made during the week could be sold New Year’s eve. Time driving on Wednesday cannot be done the following night. That is the specific problem here. The Uber drivers had to price what it was worth to them to give up their fun to serve others having fun on that particular night.
 
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