# Uber Secretly Overcharging Riders By 52% - evidence!



## glados (May 23, 2015)

I have finally found evidence that Uber is secretly overcharging riders by up to 50%, after introducing upfront fares.



  





^ Click on image above to view spreadsheet.

Last night, I took two sets of identical trips, only in different directions. (A to B, B to A, C to D, D to C). I investigated all of my fares, receipts, and what the actual calculated fare should be. *There was no surge pricing for any trip*; nor was there any traffic whatsoever.

After 2am, I was progressively charged more and more for the identical trips. Uber's receipt provides information on the distance, time, as well as extra fees ($0.55 booking fee, CTP levy, any tolls [of which there was none]), etc.

My first return trip, the $18.84 one, was 24.07% higher than what the real fare should have been, and drastically higher than what the from trip was.

My second return trip however, the $32.58 one, was an incredible 52.12% higher than what the real fare should have been, calculated using the per KM and per MIN numbers with all fees added. There is absolutely no explanation for this. There are no surges, no traffic, etc.

Uber is secretly overcharging riders by up to 52%. *Meanwhile, drivers are not being paid one cent more*. Drivers are paid per KM and per MIN, not based on the upfront fares. This means that all of Uber's overcharging is going directly to Uber.

I have contacted Uber support repeatedly, and they (possibly intentionally, despite my corrections) confused my trips with each other, and said the reason why the fare is different is because the "addresses were different", or "traffic, weather, etc". There was absolutely no traffic or weather changes.

*Conclusion:*
Uber secretly overcharges riders by up to 52%, perhaps either for return trips (since they know you haven't got a car), when it gets late at night (secret surge, without any surging), or when my phone battery is low (my phone battery got lower throughout the night, and was at 3% for my last 52% overcharged trip).


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## IERide (Jul 1, 2016)

Uber says to rider: “this trip will cost you $XX.. Do you want to go, or not?” .. Pax accepts and pays..
Driver gets paid $xx/mile and $yy/minute ..

It’s not “overcharging” if Uber says “this will cost you $XX” and rider agrees.

End of story..


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## glados (May 23, 2015)

IERide said:


> Uber says to rider: "this trip will cost you $XX.. Do you want to go, or not?" .. Pax accepts and pays..
> Driver gets paid $xx/mile and $yy/minute ..
> 
> It's not "overcharging" if Uber says "this will cost you $XX" and rider agrees.
> ...


The same trip should not be 52% higher when there is no surge pricing. That is over-charging.

If I had entered a fake destination address, and then changed the destination using the app, I would have gotten the calculated fare; of ~$21.42 instead of $32.58.

I was talking to the driver the whole time, and he confirmed he was on "25%" commission. He would only got $16 for that trip. The effective commission for that ride was 50% going to Uber. Do you not see how this is over-charging?


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

glados said:


> I have finally found evidence that Uber is secretly overcharging riders by up to 50%, after introducing upfront fares.
> 
> *Conclusion:*
> Uber secretly overcharges riders by up to 52%


Actually Uber isn't overcharging at all. All upfront pricing means is to allow the pax to see the charge before accepting it. Uber isn't held to a set rate for their pax. The same goes for livery in my state. AZ law for livery states that I must give the passenger the fare at the origin of transportation.

My charge to the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert tonight will be much cheaper than my charge from the Lynyrd Skynyrd tonight. I am not held to a set price or even have to give the same price. As long as the fare is predetermined and accepted by the pax then I can charge any amount I want. That is livery, that is Uber.

Metered taxi's are an entirely different thing. Most states require taxis to post there rates for time and distance on both sides of the vehicle and their meters are calibrated each year to ensure exact charges.



glados said:


> Do you not see how this is over-charging?


It's not overcharging at all. You agreed to the upfront pricing before you accepted it. What the driver receives has no bearing on what you pay. The driver agrees to a set dollar per mile/minute then gives 25% of that revenue to Uber.

It seems as though the pax are just as clueless as the drivers.


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## IERide (Jul 1, 2016)

What you determine “should not” or should be does not matter.
Again, it’s VERY simple:
Uber says to pax: “it will cost $XX, you want to go or not?” Pax either says yes or no.
If, 5 minutes later that cost is 1% more or 50% more it, does not matter.. The cost is the cost at the time of the quote. You either take it or you dont

This is a big nothing burger - just sad you wasted so much time on it for nothing..


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## Hans GrUber (Apr 23, 2016)

Yeah, man. Uber charges more in the middle of the night. It's lame and we don't get extra, but it's what we agreed to in the TOC. This has been happening for a long time now. It's totally ****ed up. I know.


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## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Actually Uber isn't overcharging at all.


But, Uber advertisers that the rates are $x.xx mile/.xx minute. At best it's deceptive, in my eyes its fraud.

Its like going to a grocery store and seeing a sign tomatoes 1.99/lb. Then you pick up a package of tomatoes priced $5.97. You assume its 3 lbs of tomatoes, $1.99×3lbs. Then you get home and weigh it and its 2 lbs.

Is it okay because the package was clearly marked $5.97?


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## Hans GrUber (Apr 23, 2016)

They tell you what YOU get paid. They don't advertise those rates to passengers. It's in the terms and conditions. It used to be 20%, which I thought was a lot. Little did I know they'd figure a way to take 60%+ sometimes. Monsters.


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## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

glados said:


> I have finally found evidence that Uber is secretly overcharging riders by up to 50%, after introducing upfront fares.


 It isn't a secret. I read an article a year ago that quoted an uber executive in upfront pricing and increasing fares.

We all have known it has been goifor g on. You really didn't uncover anything.


Hans GrUber said:


> They tell you what YOU get paid. They don't advertise those rates to passengers. It's in the terms and conditions. It used to be 20%, which I thought was a lot. Little did I know they'd figure a way to take 60%+ sometimes. Monsters.


Wrong... my screen shot is the rider app


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## Hans GrUber (Apr 23, 2016)

wk1102 said:


> It isn't a secret. I read an article a year ago that quoted an uber executive in upfront pricing and increasing fares.
> 
> We all have known it has been goifor g on. You really didn't uncover anything.
> 
> Wrong... my screen shot is the rider app


Oh, damn. i was just leaving...


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

LOL. You took time to build an Excel spreadsheet and titled it "Uber Overcharging Evidence."
 Get a job!


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

glados said:


> I have finally found evidence that Uber is secretly overcharging riders by up to 50%, after introducing upfront fares.
> 
> View attachment 230551
> 
> ...


Is this post for real?

This has been happening since April 2017.

News flash: Uber also charges surge pricing WITHOUT passing it on to the driver, sometimes. In addition to up front pricing.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Humanity will collectively turn its back on Corruption.



Hans GrUber said:


> They tell you what YOU get paid. They don't advertise those rates to passengers. It's in the terms and conditions. It used to be 20%, which I thought was a lot. Little did I know they'd figure a way to take 60%+ sometimes. Monsters.


Ravenous Disgusting Monsters.


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## ftupelo (Mar 18, 2018)

IERide said:


> Uber says to rider: "this trip will cost you $XX.. Do you want to go, or not?" .. Pax accepts and pays..
> Driver gets paid $xx/mile and $yy/minute ..
> 
> It's not "overcharging" if Uber says "this will cost you $XX" and rider agrees.
> ...


Thank you for this. I was about to write the same.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

I started to do the math on all my rides this week but stopped after just s few because the results were the same

In every case I was paid 75 cents a mile and 10 cents a min for x rides and 1.12 / 15 cents a min for xl. It dosent matter to me what Uber gets as long as there is steady demand for our services

Would I like to be making more? Sure! Or a larger percentage of the take? Yes indeed. Do I remember the good old days? No, I’ve only been doing this for 5 months 

It is what it is and until I buy my own commercial insurance and get permitted as a taxi or limo service and buy a Chevy suburban and pay for my own advertising I’ll be happy with my current situation


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

glados said:


> The same trip should not be 52% higher when there is no surge pricing. That is over-charging.
> 
> If I had entered a fake destination address, and then changed the destination using the app, I would have gotten the calculated fare; of ~$21.42 instead of $32.58.
> 
> I was talking to the driver the whole time, and he confirmed he was on "25%" commission. He would only got $16 for that trip. The effective commission for that ride was 50% going to Uber. Do you not see how this is over-charging?


Profit is not a dirty word. Its something uber can't make but regardless it's not a bad thing.

It sucks for the driver yes, but you don't have to drive



Uber's Guber said:


> LOL. You took time to build an Excel spreadsheet and titled it "Uber Overcharging Evidence."
> Get a job!


What a few years for remastered edition on powerpoint


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## Rat (Mar 6, 2016)

SEAL Team 5 said:


> Actually Uber isn't overcharging at all. All upfront pricing means is to allow the pax to see the charge before accepting it. Uber isn't held to a set rate for their pax. The same goes for livery in my state. AZ law for livery states that I must give the passenger the fare at the origin of transportation.
> 
> My charge to the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert tonight will be much cheaper than my charge from the Lynyrd Skynyrd tonight. I am not held to a set price or even have to give the same price. As long as the fare is predetermined and accepted by the pax then I can charge any amount I want. That is livery, that is Uber.
> 
> ...


Our local airport forbids surge pricing. This may be a violation of Uber's contract with the airport


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

.


Rat said:


> Our local airport forbids surge pricing. This may be a violation of Uber's contract with the airport


I think they cap it, most likely state wide I think 2.0 or 2.5


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## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

I have never seen my local airport surge greater than 2x or +100%. I may have missed a few surges, lol, but been doing this almost 2 years now and have seen quite a few times where the entire map is blown up but the airport is still just 2x.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

Mista T said:


> I have never seen my local airport surge greater than 2x or +100%. I may have missed a few surges, lol, but been doing this almost 2 years now and have seen quite a few times where the entire map is blown up but the airport is still just 2x.


I have never seen a surge at my second home, the Ft Myers airport. Although I'm told that a surge did happen a few times after midnight when earlier flights had been delayed


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## Rat (Mar 6, 2016)

Kodyhead said:


> .
> 
> I think they cap it, most likely state wide I think 2.0 or 2.5


No. No surge at all. Florida has state wide refs, but individual airports can negotiate their own contracts


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## f killa (May 2, 2018)

hope this helps discussion.


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## Qbobo (Nov 21, 2017)

glados said:


> I have finally found evidence that Uber is secretly overcharging riders by up to 50%, after introducing upfront fares.
> 
> View attachment 230551
> 
> ...


Make no mistake, their intentions are to confuse the situation to throw you off. Their even committing insurance fraud aswell. The third party insurance Aon/Beacon that you have the option to sign up for charges you $0.14 per mile, yet has no inclusion between James Rivers or your main insurance holders once you get into an accident. So your paying per mileage like (i.e metromile) FOR NO REASON. With all Uber's scamming I'm surprised they have yet to turn a profit .


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