Real estate developer who racked up $50,000 of Uber ride credit has it slashed to $500 after leaving a bad review

Blake Jareds, 23, realized that more than one person could use his sign-up code for Uber

He posted it online where more than 2,500 people used his code to open Uber accounts

Uber credited $50,000 to his account but then removed it after realizing his scam

When it comes to getting something for nothing, one man from New York thought he was the master.



Always on the lookout for a deal, Blake Jareds, 23, from Jericho, Long Island, spotted an offer for the on-demand limo and taxi service, Uber that would see him receive $20 in ride credit for each person that signed up.



By referring friends and cleverly forwarding a referral link to various deals and coupon code websites, he was able to rack up $50,000 in credit for future car rides.



Creative: Blake Jareds, who works at a New York-based real estate startup signed up so many people to Uber he earned $50,000 in credits

Almost everyone's private driver: Blake Jareds credit was canceled and his account was flagged after he gave one driver a one-star review

All Uber riders know they can get a free $20 credit toward future rides by signing up their friends, but it is safe to say, even someone as popular as Mr Jareds didn't have 2,500 friends.



He posted his Uber credit code on a Reddit site for people looking for cut-price deals.



His referral link became so popular that if someone searched for 'Uber promotion code' or something similar on Google, his link would be the one that users would sign up.

He believes more than 90% of the several thousand people that signed up came from his link.



Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Jareds defended his get-free-rides-quick scheme.

'I think my actions were appropriate. Did I violate any of their guidelines out right? No. Did i walk a fine line? Perhaps. I brought them new business that they never had before. I saved them tens of thousands on customer acquisition and generated a huge amount of new revenue.'

Although clearly frustrated at the loss of $50,000, Mr Jareds says he doesn't intend to sue.

'Instead of taking it all away, they should have taken back the credit earned from practices they deemed inappropriate and let me keep what was rightfully mine.'



Common knowledge: Uber riders know they can get a free $20 credit toward future rides by signing up their friends for the on-demand limo and taxi service

Deceptive? Uber declined to comment on Jareds' claim, but pointed us to the company's credit policy, which requires users to actually know the friends they're signing up for the mobile app

New Uber members were enticed further to use the code as they each received $45 ride credit of their own. Strangers are encouraged to use someone else's referral code to join.



Within a matter of weeks, he had racked up enough ride credit to take care of every need. 'Free Uber for life, essentially,' he told MailOnilne.



However, Mr Jareds life in the back seat all came to a grinding halt eight weeks after he began enjoying the hi-life when his account was flagged by the account integrity department at Uber.



Mr Jareds, who works at a New York-based real estate startup, believes it occurred after he left a driver a bad review.

'I Rated a driver one star because he took a terrible route and wasted 30 minutes. That review was probably flagged in the system, which led to a community manager to review the ride, and consequently my account. They noticed how high my credits were and froze my account. They informed me that I earned credit inappropriately and my account/credit was suspended.'

' Of course i wished i would have stopped and stayed under the radar with $50k in credits. But at the time, it was too easy and I thought I was doing everything legitimately. I think they would have eventually caught on.'



Uber cancelled his credit and wrote him the following curt message: Our system has flagged your account indicating you’ve taken advantage of the Uber referral program to earn Uber credit inappropriately.



You will no longer earn credit from invite codes associated with these accounts, and we’ve removed the credit earned previously from the primary account associated with this invite code.



Good for business: Mr Jareds believes that more than 2,500 signed up to Uber under his referral code and he should still be earning credits as a result but he has been blocked from doing so