# Uber Scam Lease Program



## MrBlues (Apr 18, 2015)

Do not enter Uber's car lease program. You will end up paying over $700 a month for lease payments and this is not including gas, Uber phone fees and vehicle insurance coverage. I was paying over $1400 a month in lease, insurance and gas expenses.

Here is when things start to get ugly, you are in the risk of facing car repossession if you default on your payments.

I was driving home from Ubering and was rear ended very badly on an yielded intersection. I was unable to drive due to neck and back injuries. The good thing is that the insurance of the person who rear ended me paid for my car damages including all medical expenses. The car was fixed and returned back to me.

I contacted Uber and Santader in order to let them know of the accident. They told me that payments would continue to accrue every month despite my accident, "A lease is a lease". Those were the exact words of the Santander representative I contacted. I told them I would be taking therapy for 2-3 months and I would get back on the road after my recovery.

Within 2 months after the accident, the car was repossessed by Santander regardless of me telling them I had a vehicle accident and was still recovering. They were asking me for over $2,000 for lease and repossession fees in order to return the car back to me. I declined and told them I was still recovering from the accident and I was unable to make those payments until I got back on the road.

Santander auctioned off the car and automatically forced me to exit the lease. A couple of weeks later I received a bill for over $13,000 by Santander for auctioning fees, repossession fees, lease and exit fees. I was late on my payments for only 2 months that lead to a debt of over $13,000. I am already working with an attorney to file a lawsuit.


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona (Mar 18, 2015)

There's a reporter who is looking to talk to drivers who have leased a vehicle.

https://uberpeople.net/threads/just-curious-about-uber-financing.17226/#post-246177


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## MrBlues (Apr 18, 2015)

Taxi Driver in Arizona said:


> There's a reporter who is looking to talk to drivers who have leased a vehicle.
> 
> https://uberpeople.net/threads/just-curious-about-uber-financing.17226/#post-246177


Thank you, I will try to get a hold of him.


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## uber_sea (Jan 9, 2015)

Talking to a lawyer would be your best bet. Perhaps you can get the guy that rear ended you to pay for potential wages lost? 

Uber did what was legal for them to do by screwing over drivers. The practice is nothing new.


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## Sam Harnett (Mar 19, 2015)

Hi,

Sorry about your misfortune! I'm the reporter from public radio. I'd like to talk with you about this experience. You can reach me on gmail. My address is just my name samharnett. Hope we can talk and that your situation improves!


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## Brett in NYC (Mar 15, 2015)

I wouldn't say it's a scam as you are getting the car.

I would call it a really bad deal with a high risk to reward ratio.


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## MrBlues (Apr 18, 2015)

Brett in NYC said:


> I wouldn't say it's a scam as you are getting the car.
> 
> I would call it a really bad deal with a high risk to reward ratio.


You don't seem to understand the seriousness of this. I am no longer an Uber driver and Santander keeps sending me weekly emails and adding up weekly bills to my existing debt even though they seized, sold the car and forced me to exit the lease(I am no longer in a lease). I will try to upload the images here so you can see what I mean. I was current on all of my Uber payments until I had the vehicle accident back on February. For security reasons, I have removed my personal information from the images including the account number and vehicle's VIN number. Please note, there is another payment due on the 24th of this month which will be added onto the existing $13,681.44.


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## jiwagon (Feb 19, 2015)

I'd love to hear the interview if it ever airs. This is awful and makes me sick. The fact that uber would partner with these predators.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

MrBlues said:


> You don't seem to understand the seriousness of this. I am no longer an Uber driver and Santander keeps sending me weekly emails and adding up weekly bills to my existing debt even though they seized, sold the car and forced me to exit the lease(I am no longer in a lease). I will try to upload the images here so you can see what I mean. I was current on all of my Uber payments until I had the vehicle accident back on February. For security reasons, I have removed my personal information from the images including the account number and vehicle's VIN number. Please note, there is another payment due on the 24th of this month which will be added onto the existing $13,681.44.


I thought these leases only had a $1,000 early termination fee. So is all this extra due to repossession? Why wouldn't the amount due just be the past due payments, lease exit fee, repo fees, and interest?

It looks like they also charged you the negative equity from your payoff amount less the wholesale auction price. If so, it seems that's a huge price to pay for it being repossessed versus just turning it in early. Is this what the terms of the contract state? It seems like it's about $10,000 too much.

Also, I'm pretty sure they can't keep adding the payments after they sell it, but only interest and collections at this point.


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## UberBlackPr1nce (Dec 28, 2014)

MrBlues said:


> Do not enter Uber's car lease program. You will end up paying over $700 a month for lease payments and this is not including gas, Uber phone fees and vehicle insurance coverage. I was paying over $1400 a month in lease, insurance and gas expenses.
> 
> Here is when things start to get ugly, you are in the risk of facing car repossession if you default on your payments.
> 
> ...


Why did you buy a new car just to do uber? If the current car you drove did not meet qualifications then maybe uber/ride sharing was not meant for you. 
You made the choice not uber...


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## Brett in NYC (Mar 15, 2015)

jizzwagon said:


> I'd love to hear the interview if it ever airs. This is awful and makes me sick. The fact that uber would partner with these predators.


It was the only way Uber was gonna get the "explosive" growth it was looking for. How else were they gonna get high quality new cars in the hands of people with no money and bad credit?

In NYC, doing Uber part time is not an option. It's either full time or not at all. As someone who can buy a solid used car for cash, I researched Uber, and found it to be way too risky a proposition. I'm sure I'm not the only one in my position who came to this conclusion. So, pretty much the entire Uber fleet in NYC rests on a very shaky foundation of cars financed at subprime rates.

Of course, this strategy is unsustainable and will eventually end with a bust, but that's besides the point, now, isn't it?


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## Actionjax (Oct 6, 2014)

This is pretty standard in the loans business. That's why it's important to read your contract. Also some loans you can take out optional insurance for wage related issues where you are protected for extended absences and they freeze your payments till you are better. (And they still take the car)

While I can understand how bad this is for you it's clearly spelled out in the contract. But sometimes they are not forthcoming on the costs and what it means to the consumer. I would say fight it with a lawyer and you will find they will settle out of court. Most likely not going after you for the remaining money. You may still need to pay your legal costs though.


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## jiwagon (Feb 19, 2015)

You got Uber'd. Start a gofundme page when you're homeless.


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## UberDC (Jul 12, 2014)

MrBlues said:


> Do not enter Uber's car lease program. You will end up paying over $700 a month for lease payments and this is not including gas, Uber phone fees and vehicle insurance coverage. I was paying over $1400 a month in lease, insurance and gas expenses.
> 
> Here is when things start to get ugly, you are in the risk of facing car repossession if you default on your payments.
> 
> ...


This was obviously always a bad idea. You should have done your due diligence first instead of rushing into it. READ a contract before you sign it next time.


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