# Incongruency in Weekly Phone Fee



## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

I am hearing a lot of different reports on the mobile subscription fee. In my opinion this was one of the most uncalled for actions Uber has made. A direct pay cut to existing drivers to subsidize their apps lack of portability and their over aggressive hiring techniques. So now a month later - are you getting charged the $10 a week fee in your market or not?


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

Never / not yet / no notice of impending charge in Los Angeles


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## SoCal_Uber (May 2, 2014)

Yeah with news that Uber is DOUBLING their revenue every 6 months,
it really is a crying shame that they'd have the Gaul to ask $40 + a month 
from its frontline troops.....


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## GuitarJunkie (Apr 10, 2014)

Understandable they dont charge in LA with the low fares and recent commission return. Although they could come back and collect postdated $10 a week. August hits and there is -$120 on the statement for three months of data fees. Haha, why not right.


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

No phone fee in Seattle.


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## jakeV (Apr 10, 2014)

It is strange they say they will charge this fee and then dont? Nobody is getting hit with hit? Will they bill us quarterly? I kind of thought they would need a signature for such a change..


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## remy (Apr 17, 2014)

Probably they saw a big turn over when they charged $10 weekly. As a gig or part-timer I would turn the phone in. They advertise "work when you want" but then charge? Defeat the whole purpose.


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## Mika (Apr 23, 2014)

I haven't been hit with the charge yet.


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## us1415 (May 27, 2014)

None in Houston


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## John (Apr 16, 2014)

we get paid doing this?


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

Someone said 'yes'. Who is getting charged the $10 mobile subscription fee - what market?


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

No Fee in Sydney.


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## jakeV (Apr 10, 2014)

Bump. Who is getting charged $10 fee?


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## zaner (Apr 9, 2014)

No fee here


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

zaner said:


> No fee here


Where are you located zaner?

Reminder for everyone: Please add your city location in your profile. Makes it easier to relate to your posts if we know where you are located.


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## JJuber (Jun 16, 2014)

no fee in Dallas TX, I make 150 a week after 20% cut
maybe I quit for UBER if they charge phone fee in the future


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## Nautilis (Apr 16, 2014)

$10 Device fee update (Boston):
We were charged the $10 mobile device fee once W.E. 5/12 and have not been charged since then until today... I noticed on my Payment Statement W.E. 6/16 the $10 Device Subscription fee has returned.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

Nautilis said:


> $10 Device fee update (Boston):
> We were charged the $10 mobile device fee once W.E. 5/12 and have not been charged since then until today... I noticed on my Payment Statement W.E. 6/16 the $10 Device Subscription fee has returned.


Someone had posted a section of their agreement with Uber that contained language that a driver/contractor could not be forced to pay a subscription fee. (I should probably go look for where I read that post.) It would be interesting to read the contract again. Of course, I don't think Uber gives you a copy of that contract, its just something they have you agree to on the phone itself. (If anyone has a link to the contract, I would love to see it.)


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## Nautilis (Apr 16, 2014)

Oc_DriverX said:


> Someone had posted a section of their agreement with Uber that contained language that a driver/contractor could not be forced to pay a subscription fee.


That was me (here's a link to that thread: https://uberpeople.net/index.php?threads/10-weekly-phone-subscription-fee-conflicts-with-our-provider-service-agreement.188/). Some posters on the Uber Driver Reddit page said that the agreement language applies only to when you are first starting to work for uber... or something to that effect.

I'd be curious what others make of it. You can download the agreement by logging into your dashboard and clicking on "Service Agreement" at the bottom of the left side of the page.


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## Just Some Guy (Jun 10, 2014)

It looks like they're charging $10 a month in Boston.


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## Nautilis (Apr 16, 2014)

Just Some Guy said:


> It looks like they're charging $10 a month in Boston.


I was hoping they'd be waiving it until they had an option for us to download the driver app on our own phones.


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## Seinfeld (Apr 11, 2014)

I read around on the web and even asked a driver in person in SD if the fee was being charged, the answer I got was no. So I tried driving Uber with Lyft this pst weekend. Just got my partner statement and bam $-10 for data plan. For me Lyft is way better, pays better, and the passengers are friendlier.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

Oc_DriverX said:


> Someone had posted a section of their agreement with Uber that contained language that a driver/contractor could not be forced to pay a subscription fee. (I should probably go look for where I read that post.) It would be interesting to read the contract again. Of course, I don't think Uber gives you a copy of that contract, its just something they have you agree to on the phone itself. (If anyone has a link to the contract, I would love to see it.)


On your driver's dashboard there should be a link on the left side saying "contracts Partner Terms"


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## JJuber (Jun 16, 2014)

I'm drive for uber X in dallas and no $10 charge on my last statement but one of my friend did get charge for $10 misc fee


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## Art (Jun 18, 2014)

It was my understanding that commercial accounts get charged and privet accounts dont.
I have 2 phones, 1 I got for my uberx account and im not getting charged for the 2nd one I got with my uber suv account and im getting charged $10.
And thats what I was told when I contacted uber.
Then again uber tech support doesnt know what they are talking about anyways. 
You can get more usefully information from a vegetable then uber employees


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## Mazda3 (Jun 21, 2014)

I'm in Indianapolis and I'be been charged the last two weeks, even after they said they would waive it for me.


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## Just Some Guy (Jun 10, 2014)

Art said:


> Then again uber tech support doesnt know what they are talking about anyways.
> You can get more usefully information from a vegetable then uber employees


Like most tech support, all they do is read the little paragraph listed under the problem you have.


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## Nick Manning (May 3, 2014)

No $10 here in Chicago.....so far...


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

Just Some Guy said:


> It looks like they're charging $10 a month in Boston.


$10 a month?

Man some consistency would be nice in this business. I think the isolation of the drivers is allowing Uber to be sloppy with management. Such a digital driven system shouldn't be so full of discrepancies.


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## Nautilis (Apr 16, 2014)

Jeeves said:


> $10 a month?
> 
> Man some consistency would be nice in this business. I think the isolation of the drivers is allowing Uber to be sloppy with management. Such a digital driven system shouldn't be so full of discrepancies.


I'm in Boston and have received the $10 fee for the past two weeks (not months)


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## JJuber (Jun 16, 2014)

I'm in dallas, got my statement today and no $10 fee


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## mp775 (Jun 26, 2014)

Just Some Guy said:


> It looks like they're charging $10 a month in Boston.


I had the same thing happened - fee one week, no fee for three weeks, fee the next week, none the next (last week). I e-mailed and asked if it was being charged monthly, or if there was some threshold for the fee to be charged or waived. The response was that it should be every week, and the weeks without the fee were an error on their part. Maybe I should have kept quiet...


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

mp775 said:


> I had the same thing happened - fee one week, no fee for three weeks, fee the next week, none the next (last week). I e-mailed and asked if it was being charged monthly, or if there was some threshold for the fee to be charged or waived. The response was that it should be every week, and the weeks without the fee were an error on their part. Maybe I should have kept quiet...


Do the venture capital people really understand the inconsistent management team that they are investing their money with?


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

Oc_DriverX said:


> Do the venture capital people really understand the inconsistent management team that they are investing their money with?


When you have so much money flowing, it doesn't matter. Of course some dollars are going to spill out of your pockets. You wouldn't even notice.


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## mp775 (Jun 26, 2014)

Like not noticting that drivers are keeping 107% of the fare in some markets?


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## Ubernanna (Jun 27, 2014)

San Diego


Jeeves said:


> Someone said 'yes'. Who is getting charged the $10 mobile subscription fee - what market?


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## LuLu (Jun 27, 2014)

Nautilis said:


> I was hoping they'd be waiving it until they had an option for us to download the driver app on our own phones.


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## LuLu (Jun 27, 2014)

Hey all, first time here  I'm in SD and just got hit with 2, yes TWO data fees last week............WTFreek.......? I truly thought it was once a month. I really think there is a huge disconnect between the drivers and support or lack there of.! Don't even get me started on my dashboard.... It has NEVER been correct.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

What's interesting is that finding new ways to squeeze out money from drivers is something cab companies having been doing since the dawn of time. Spot the similarities:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...1N8eYhDTBaL/story.html?p1=ArticleTab_Article_

Under city regulations, drivers may be assessed the surcharge - $18 per shift, or $170 for a weekly rental - only for vehicles less than five years old. Boston police distributed a notice to fleet owners in January reminding them they no longer were permitted to charge the fee for 2009 models.

Yet when the Globe asked more than 20 drivers how much they have been charged weekly since Jan. 1 to rent 2009 Toyota Camrys from Boston Cab, each said the price has included the $170 premium fee - a violation of police rules that over the first 13 weeks of the year cost each driver more than $2,200.

The drivers said they feared losing their jobs if they protested.

"I have no alternative,'' one driver said. "I just shut my mouth and do what they say.''

Boston Cab owns at least 75 2009 Camrys, which means the company could have reaped more than $165,000 since Jan. 1 through improper surcharges.

---

Rose said Teperman overcharged him $90 a week in part by requiring him to pay weekly radio dispatch dues out of his pocket - a violation of city regulations - to the Independent Taxi Owners Association.

Rose accepted Teperman's excesses, he said, because his union activism had gotten him blackballed from other cab companies. But he finally decided to fight back, he said, after Cohen's latest challenge to produce a victim.

Rose reported Teperman's alleged overcharging. But according to Rose, Cohen simply told him, "That's your problem.''

---

After every shift, the reporter fills his gas tank at a station less than three blocks away. He pumps until the gas gurgles over, once onto his shoes.

Yet when he reaches the garage one night, the gas attendant tells him he owes the company an additional $2.09.

"How is that possible?'' an attendant is asked, told about the overflowing gas tank.

"It happens to everyone,'' the attendant says, shrugging.

The practice can be a boon for Boston Cab. If every driver pays an additional $1 for gas, for example, the company could possibly reap as much as $100,000 a year.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

Jeeves said:


> When you have so much money flowing, it doesn't matter. Of course some dollars are going to spill out of your pockets. You wouldn't even notice.


Their venture capital Masters would be LOVING the fact that there are so many areas in UBER's logistics handling that need improving. Their aim is to always make the biggest return in the shortest amount of time. Actually having areas with glaring logistic and operational inefficiencies within Uber is a huge plus when it finally goes to market to test its paper valuation. The upside that is still available within the current structure is enormous.


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## Nick Manning (May 3, 2014)

Maybe it's because all of the execs are 18 years old


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## mp775 (Jun 26, 2014)

mp775 said:


> I had the same thing happened - fee one week, no fee for three weeks, fee the next week, none the next (last week).


Only two fee-free weeks this time. Charged again last week (after a whopping $22 in fares).


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## LUXYRIDE (Jul 5, 2014)

I read that I will be charged $50 for each of my first two weeks for a deposit on the phone,which is refunded when I return it. I didn't read anywhere that I would be charged $10 a week to have the phone. If that's the case, Lyft will be my primary go-to.

Luxi
Providence


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

LUXYRIDE said:


> I read that I will be charged $50 for each of my first two weeks for a deposit on the phone,which is refunded when I return it. I didn't read anywhere that I would be charged $10 a week to have the phone. If that's the case, Lyft will be my primary go-to.
> 
> Luxi
> Providence


You lucked out. I had to pay $300.00 phone deposit. $150.00 for each of my 1st two weeks. No weekly phone charge here in Seattle yet, but I am sure it is coming.


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## philliku (Aug 18, 2014)

$10.00 fee in Cincinnati, OH


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## John (Apr 16, 2014)

I bet soon the fee will be $15.00 LOL


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## UberPissed (Aug 13, 2014)

Nick Manning said:


> No $10 here in Chicago.....so far...


$10 in Chicago as of 2 weeks ago.


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## Wolfehowl (Aug 13, 2014)

Charlotte, NC is being charged the fee, on top of the 20% rate drop/pay cut, *and* they tripled the number of drivers in the last week. Had a total of 15 rides this weekend. No money left in this. I was wondering, was anyone else charged a $100 "hardware fee" for their phone? I keep hearing about drivers turning in their phone to quit, but unless they reimburse me for the hardware fee they are not getting it back when I quit.


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## UBERXTRA (Jun 29, 2014)

After I got the $10 fee here in Dallas and they reduced the $1.90 ride fee to zero, I quit. Definitely not worth it anymore.

I decided to work one day of overtime at my real job on Tuesday, I earned more in one day of overtime at my real job than one month for Uber. LOL!


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## UberVue (Aug 16, 2014)

Detroit has $1o/week device fee and fares reduced 11%. I have not turned my phone on since.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

UverVue: Will you turn your phone in, or will you just keep running up the weekly fee?


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## UberVue (Aug 16, 2014)

I am keeping it - to see if they drop the fee - If they don't I'll send it back. If I never turn it on again - they will have nothing to charge me for... 

This was a great little gig... I did not mind making less than $12 a hour part-time to work whenever the heck I felt like it - but I said previously - I could get a $12 /hr gig with Accountemps and not have to pay them $40 a month for the privilege of flexibility. Might be worth it to some - but not to me. I work to hard for my money to piss it away on ridiculous fees.


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## OldTownSean (Aug 14, 2014)

No fee in Scottsdale yet.


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## michaelpi (Jul 30, 2014)

I am leaving the country for a bit and emailed the Dallas office to put my account on hold, and turn of data to the phone, they basically said I must mail it in or I will be charged $10 every week I have it.

Yeah thanks, it looks like they will keep a tab and im sure will find a way to get their $10 a week from drivers.


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## NightRider (Jul 23, 2014)

michaelpi said:


> I am leaving the country for a bit and emailed the Dallas office to put my account on hold, and turn of data to the phone, they basically said I must mail it in or I will be charged $10 every week I have it.
> 
> Yeah thanks, it looks like they will keep a tab and im sure will find a way to get their $10 a week from drivers.


Seems to suggest that uber doesn't believe that you're actually going on temporary away/vacation, and in fact thinks that with the way things currently stand in the market, drivers are trying to do a "wait and see" for a bit to see what the playing field looks like in a few weeks, etc... or worse, that drivers are essentially trying to quit and keep the phone. There should be ZERO reason they can't simply turn off data to that phone for a short period of time.

I distinctly remember (and I'm sure I have it in email) that when they first announced the $10/week charge, they stated that if you were going away, you only needed to contact them to let them no so they could temporarily turn off data. Things are going downhill so fast...


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## Hangingaround79 (Aug 20, 2014)

I just got hit for it for the first time last week in Dallas. This was not there when I signed up, classic bait and switch. My advice is for everyone to notify your friends on Facebook to tip your drivers!


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## Nick Manning (May 3, 2014)

UberPissed said:


> $10 in Chicago as of 2 weeks ago.


I just noticed the start of the $10 data charge last week!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRR


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