A California woman complained to Uber that her driver had no reason to charge her a $100 “bodily fluids” fee on a $7 car ride recently.
Annie Pho says she did not throw up or create any sort of “bodily fluids” in the car she ordered with the popular ride sharing app. The only explanation, she told CBS2-TV in Los Angeles, is that the driver was trying to charge her for rain water that might have gotten in his car during the stormy day.
Pho took her outrage to Twitter:
I have been scammed by an @Uber driver. @Uber is doing nothing about it! $100 Cleaning fee due to rain water #ubershame#Uber
Uber confirmed that a “cleaning fee” of $100 or $200 does exist (though it’s not called a “bodily fluids” fee on its site), but the company told CBS2-TV it was refunded in Pho’s case. The fee is usually reserved for “vomiting or pet accidents,” the company said, and the “exact amount depends on the extent of the damage.”
“The original cleaning fee came from what appeared to be paw marks from a pet left on the backseat of the vehicle,” Uber told TIME later. “But again, after further review, a decision was made to fully refund the rider.”