A few updates:

Shortly after sending my complaint to Uber, I received a favorable response and apology from customer service, including an adjustment of the fare from XL to X. I also learned that to protect rider and driver privacy, riders and drivers cannot view ratings for a specific trip. Driver-partners will never see exactly which rider or which trip received a specific rating and vice versa.

For those commenters questioning the fact that it was indeed just my husband and I in the car, I can assure that we didn’t get *that* lucky in Vegas.

For those commenters who think it’s ridiculous that I even gave him a 4, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Looking back, he deserved a 2.

For those commenters who think there are pieces missing to my account, you’re right; somewhere in the middle of the ride, we learned that he was a part-time sushi chef and was good friends with the owner of our favorite local restaurant.

In general, it’s always sad when a few bad apples ruin things for the masses. I’ve always been an Uber loyalist, and have always raved about the service I’ve used for years.

Even though I’ve had some less than stellar experiences (everything from being in a car that was side swiped, the occasional rude driver, and even a “kidnapping scare” during my brother’s first ride), I still love Uber, and I have close to 100 rides under my belt.

The good thing about Uber is that both drivers and passengers are rated at the end of the ride to help weed out “bad apples”. We all know how important maintaining a good rating is, and I always make sure I rate honestly and accurately to encourage good service.

For example, you’re not getting a 5-star rating from me if you’re rude, you’re smoking, chatting on your phone while driving me, or engaging in other unprofessional activity.

Sadly, it looks like I’ve encountered a bad apple 2 days ago when my husband and I rode home from Newark airport. It was 1:30 in the morning, and we just returned from Las Vegas. We were tired, and couldn’t wait to get home to the kids. We called an Uber and were assigned a driver with a 4.7 rating.

The driver called immediately and said “can I pick you up somewhere else? There are too many police at arrivals.” Fine, no problem. We went upstairs to the departures level to meet him. When we entered the car, we weren’t greeted at all, and for the entire ride, he was asking us to navigate for him because he was too busy talking loudly on the phone in another language while he was driving.

I was getting annoyed after he almost missed an exit for the 3rd time. Midway through the ride, I texted my husband, who was sitting next to me, saying “Wow. 3 stars. 4 at most”.

When we arrived home he said, “Make sure you give me 5 stars.”. I took it with a grain of salt and got my ride receipt of $40 and change. I decided to be nice and give him 4 stars, even though that’s a stretch.

I guess he didn’t like that too much.

About an hour ago, I received an email in my inbox saying that I would be charged the UberXL fare based on the number of passengers in the car. My new bill was $72 and change. So his interpretation of my rating was telling Uber he drove 4-6 passengers?!? Um no. I was fuming.

I remember hearing about plenty of sneaky driver scams, but this one takes the cake. I later researched and learned through an Uber drivers’ forum that drivers do this to customers as a way to “get back at them”.

I immediately contacted Uber and shared my complaint, and if this doesn’t get resolved, I will absolutely file a chargeback. This type of fraud should be taken very seriously, and I hope this driver is permanently removed from the program.

Have you ever been a victim of a similar scam while using Uber?

Feel free to discuss your experiences.

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