# $10 Mobile Fee Starts In September



## UberComic (Apr 17, 2014)

They just informed us LA drivers that the $10 weekly mobile fee will begin in September. More nickel and dimeing the drivers.


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## Moofish (Jun 13, 2014)

When will they just integrate the driver app into the rider app so that we can use it on our own phones already like lyft? for those that don't drive that much, this is a big hit to their income.

I'm in OC and haven't got this email yet, but I expect it won't be long before we do.


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

Awesome yes? 

Now only if we'd go back to a more reasonable (fair) price point, say 1.65/mi and 10% commission. 

I find it ridiculous a company as big as Uber needs to charge each "partner" $520/year for something we could provide on our own... Seems to work for Lyft...


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## Moofish (Jun 13, 2014)

In the end, they are a corporation that is only seeking to increase their profits by cutting any small cost that they can.


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

$520/yr x 10,000 L.A. drivers. Wow. This is how Uber is making a profit since they're losing money in fares. All those free promos, sign on bonuses are catching up. It's bullshit to charge us but they're probably going to insure us as primary and we'll likely see a fare increase for the fall.


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

One can only hope for a fare increase... 

A couple of things will happen when/if Uber raises base rates/mileage/minimums. 

1. Demand will fall off sharply (temporarily) as users balk at the new pricing scheme. 

2. These same users will come back hat in hand begging to have Uber again, because after taking Uber, honestly who wants to go back to Taxis? Especially when über even at $2/mile is still 30% cheaper than a taxi, cashless and convenient... 

3. Driver satisfaction will improve.


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## London UberExec Driver (Jul 8, 2014)

I hope this charge doesn't come to London. It was one of the attractions to working with Uber in the first place - you don't do any work (because of other commitments), you won't owe anything. 

Hence, I work for another firm, who charges £15 a week for their PDA, which I gave back as I hardly did any work for them. 

To the original poster - what will happen if you wanted to take a long holiday, say 3/4 weeks or more? Could you give the device back before you go, and get it back again when you come back without charge?


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

Moofish said:


> In the end, they are a corporation that is only seeking to increase their profits by cutting any small cost that they can.


$10/week is not simply cutting a "small cost", it is turning a small cost into a profit center. As has been discussed before, the $10/week is an outrageous for the amount of actual data used.


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## Django (May 5, 2014)

London UberExec Driver said:


> I hope this charge doesn't come to London. It was one of the attractions to working with Uber in the first place - you don't do any work (because of other commitments), you won't owe anything.
> 
> Hence, I work for another firm, who charges £15 a week for their PDA, which I gave back as I hardly did any work for them.
> 
> To the original poster - what will happen if you wanted to take a long holiday, say 3/4 weeks or more? Could you give the device back before you go, and get it back again when you come back without charge?


When you don't take any fares for the week they don't charge the $10 fee. Still, it's ridiculous. You can basically equate that existing drivers are paying for new driver bonuses. There is no incentive for driver retention. I doubt there ever will be. Seems they only want drivers who feel they have no other choice for income.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Django said:


> When you don't take any fares for the week they don't charge the $10 fee. Still, it's ridiculous. You can basically equate that existing drivers are paying for new driver bonuses. There is no incentive for driver retention. I doubt there ever will be. Seems they only want drivers who feel they have no other choice for income.


It sounds like they recoup the fee in a future week if you don't have any fares the week(s) before. The only way to avoid the fee for awhile is to return the phone temporarily (not real practical).


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## u_no_me (Jun 27, 2014)

Well, to be fair, it's not just for data, there are costs associated with the hardware ownership and administration, and drivers who are not earning are a cost to the company. But I think it should be no more than $5 wk.


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## Django (May 5, 2014)

grams777 said:


> It sounds like they recoup the fee in a future week if you don't have any fares the week(s) before. The only way to avoid the fee for awhile is to return the phone temporarily (not real practical).


Is there evidence of this? I have not driven for weeks and then came back to only one $10 fee. I was always worried about it though.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Also this seems like a bit of false advertising on Uber's part (no monthly fees, but 4 weekly fees are ok?):


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Django said:


> Is there evidence of this? I have not driven for weeks and then came back to only one $10 fee. I was always worried about it though.


The implementation so far has been variable city by city, but this is what I was referring to:

-----
Actual quote from the email we just got in DC:
"If you feel that you are not doing enough trips to cover the $10 fee, please return the device in working condition to Uber and we will refund any hardware deposit you may have provided. You can always temporarily return the phone to avoid charges during vacations and receive the phone back upon your return as long as your account is in good standing."
-----


__
https://www.reddit.com/r/uberdrivers/comments/2346yj/_/cgu6vy0


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

grams777 said:


> Also this seems like a bit of false advertising on Uber's part (no monthly fees, but 4 weekly fees are ok?):
> 
> View attachment 421


Hmmm.. how about downright fraud???


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## The LAwnmower (May 1, 2014)

Uber should have some of their corporate employee's drive their own cars in each city for a week. See the actual fares along with ware and tear on their vehicles and the nickel and dime fee's they charge on their statements. The best of the best drivers will just move on. They will be left with the desperate and smelly/dirty cars. If they want to charge $40mo for a phone then whatever. But they need to raise the per mile back up to $1.80-$2. Given a choice someone still is going to take an Uber.


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## LUXYRIDE (Jul 5, 2014)

Perhaps they could waive the "$10/wk" for any Uber drivers who get $100 in fares for that week. Sort of an incentive to drive, rather than a detractor?

Luxy
Providence


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

LUXYRIDE said:


> Perhaps they could waive the "$10/wk" for any Uber drivers who get $100 in fares for that week. Sort of an incentive to drive, rather than a detractor?
> 
> Luxy
> Providence


That would make too much sense.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

The LAwnmower said:


> Uber should have some of their corporate employee's drive their own cars in each city for a week. See the actual fares along with ware and tear on their vehicles and the nickel and dime fee's they charge on their statements. The best of the best drivers will just move on. They will be left with the desperate and smelly/dirty cars. If they want to charge $40mo for a phone then whatever. But they need to raise the per mile back up to $1.80-$2. Given a choice someone still is going to take an Uber.





LUXYRIDE said:


> Perhaps they could waive the "$10/wk" for any Uber drivers who get $100 in fares for that week. Sort of an incentive to drive, rather than a detractor?
> 
> Luxy
> Providence


One gets the feeling that none of their executives has ever driven for Uber.

The "data fee" should be reduced and have a waiver incentive upon a certain fare level.


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## TobyLA (Jul 11, 2014)

So, I went to Uber's "open hours" today to talk with their reps. I was pissed bc I heard about this fee right before I was to leave town for 2 months.

They were nice and offered to waitlist my account - no mention of returning my phone - and said I should just email them to re-activate a few days before I came back.

BUT BUT BUT - then they noticed that I was a former Lyft driver (well, "former" according to them...) and said that because of this I wouldn't be charged that rate! They said this could potentially change in the future (which probably means it will at some point?) but for now, if you joined as a switcher, you have immunity. I have no idea why this wasn't mentioned in the emails!

I also asked them why they didn't have their standalone app. They gave me an unconvincing response - which I could tell they weren't really convinced by - that it was because you "couldn't have a separate driver app in the app store" (I told them that sidecar does and they didn't have an answer) and that they didn't want you to have to use your data plan (obviously if they are charging this is moot...) and maybe the most convincing possible explanation (aside from "we want to make money off drivers"): 'In the beginning we had to do it to have everyone on the same platform'. 

Then he mentioned something I've never heard anything else: that they *are* working on an own-phone solution, but they don't have a timeline for it.

If they aren't trying to just make $ off drivers, it makes a ton of sense to have an own-phone solution: it is far, far less expensive for partners and they don't have to shell out $ for hundreds of thousands of iPhones. The only thing that makes me believe an own-phone solution could be legitimately taking so long is how terrible their iphone app was for so long - even with only having one platform to develop for!


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

TobyLA said:


> So, I went to Uber's "open hours" today to talk with their reps. I was pissed bc I heard about this fee right before I was to leave town for 2 months.
> 
> They were nice and offered to waitlist my account - no mention of returning my phone - and said I should just email them to re-activate a few days before I came back.
> 
> ...


 I am sure it is different in every market, but here in Seattle Lyft drivers get a lot of perks from Uber that the non-Lyft drivers don't. They have a special Lyft list of drivers that gets texted and emailed to with hourly guarantees etc. Uber is hell bent on getting Lyft drivers off the platform especially during peak times and days.


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## London UberExec Driver (Jul 8, 2014)

Drivr, another Uber type company based in Denmark has their own app for drivers which you download to your iPhone from a link they send you by email as its not available in the App Store.


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## remy (Apr 17, 2014)

The LAwnmower said:


> Uber should have some of their corporate employee's drive their own cars in each city for a week. See the actual fares along with ware and tear on their vehicles and the nickel and dime fee's they charge on their statements. The best of the best drivers will just move on. They will be left with the desperate and smelly/dirty cars. If they want to charge $40mo for a phone then whatever. But they need to raise the per mile back up to $1.80-$2. Given a choice someone still is going to take an Uber.


If their employee drive for a day or a week they will simply say, " I'm 5 star driver!


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## u_no_me (Jun 27, 2014)

remy said:


> If their employee drive for a day or a week they will simply say, " I'm 5 star driver!


LOL, how true.


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## chitown_driver (Jul 21, 2014)

In Chicago the $10 weekly charge is effective today. They sent an email notificaton regarding this change yesterday!


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## UBERXTRA (Jun 29, 2014)

I just started driving. When they implement the fee in Dallas, I'll probably quit.


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

chitown_driver said:


> In Chicago the $10 weekly charge is effective today. They sent an email notificaton regarding this change yesterday!


They had said they weren't going to add the charge to our statements starting in September, but I was charged it today... (and there was no $10 credit to offset the charge)

bastards.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

AMBUDRIVER03 said:


> They had said they weren't going to add the charge to our statements starting in September, but I was charged it today... (and there was no $10 credit to offset the charge)
> 
> bastards.


Are you through partnersoc or partnersla? I don't see the $10 fee on my OC statement.


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

I'm attached to partners LA.


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## AMBUDRIVER03 (Jul 1, 2014)

And today


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

My statement didn't have it. Yet.


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## UberSonic (Jul 22, 2014)

Yeah I got the spiel about data usage as well. If anything the biggest data hit of the app would be the map downloads. An easy fix for that would be to have offline maps. Plenty of nav apps have that option, and maps for an entire state wouldn't be enormous for storing on the phone. Even having just the maps for the base coverage area, and loading live maps for trips outside that area would be an improvement. The maps could regularly update themselves when the phone connects to wifi. Also, I regularly keep the Rider app open on my personal phone when I'm out and about to keep an eye on the locations of other drivers. I don't see a huge hit on my data usage doing this, and I doubt the Driver app uses all that much more than the Rider app.

I will say though there are a few times that I am glad to have the Uber phone (Verizon) on a different service from my personal phone (Sprint through Ting). Downtown Detroit cell service all but shuts down during sports events from all the extra people that are around.


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## SunSmith (Apr 20, 2014)

UberSonic said:


> I will say though there are a few times that I am glad to have the Uber phone (Verizon) on a different service from my personal phone (Sprint through Ting). Downtown Detroit cell service all but shuts down during sports events from all the extra people that are around.


I left Sprint for the more expensive Verizon due to the data shut downs during events (Seattle Mariner games, for example). At SxSW in Austin Texas even the voice lines went down due to usage. I couldn't handle the lack of reliability, and moved over. At SxSW we even called, they said they had a problem with a tower, and fixed it. Next day, same issue, no coverage.


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## Moofish (Jun 13, 2014)

With the $40/month now being mandatory, is it now something that we can write off now at the end of the year as a business expense? or since it's taken out of your "income" is it not considered an out of pocket expense?


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

It is an expense.

Write it off.


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

LAuberX said:


> It is an expense.
> 
> Write it off.


Not if you do the mileage deduction. If you do the individual deductions, you can't go back to mileage. If you do mileage this year, then next year you can do either/or.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

What do other business expenses have to do with auto expenses?

I really don't know, just can't picture how it is either use mileage or itemize all categories... I heard taxi / livery / car service can't use mileage deduction.

I may drive 30,000 miles in 2014 doing uberX.

Uber / Lyft are new, how many UberX drivers filed mileage deduction last year?


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## dominant7th (Jun 24, 2014)

w/e


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## SunSmith (Apr 20, 2014)

based on what I've read, the IRS has revised its mileage allowance and we should be able to use the standard mileage deduction


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

LAuberX said:


> I really don't know, just can't picture how it is either use mileage or itemize all categories... I heard taxi / livery / car service can't use mileage deduction.





SunSmith said:


> based on what I've read, the IRS has revised its mileage allowance and we should be able to use the standard mileage deduction


It was changed in 2011 to allow the standard mileage deduction for mileage in for hire vehicles (in small operations of less than 5 cars). It didn't used to be allowed before 2011. So you will see some people and information that say it is not allowed. But that's based on outdated regulations.

You can see the notice of the change in the 2011 IRS publication:

Note. Beginning in 2011, you can elect to use the standard mileage rate if you used a car for hire (such as a taxi). However, if you use five or more cars at the same time (as in fleet operations) then you cannot elect to use the standard mileage rate.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p463--2011.pdf#page15​
And here is the current IRS publication (2013):

You can elect to use the standard mileage rate if you used a car for hire (such as a taxi) unless the standard mileage rate is otherwise not allowed, as discussed above.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch04.html#en_US_2013_publink100033935​The not allowed portion referred to applies to these exclusions:

You cannot use the standard mileage rate if you:

Use five or more cars at the same time (such as in fleet operations),

Claimed a depreciation deduction for the car using any method other than straight line, for example, _MACRS_ (as discussed later under_Depreciation Deduction_),

Claimed a _section 179 deduction_ (discussed later) on the car,

Claimed the _special depreciation allowance_ on the car,

Claimed actual car expenses after 1997 for a car you leased, or

Are a rural mail carrier who received a qualified reimbursement. (See _Rural mail carriers_ , earlier.)
And some miscellaneous info about selecting the method:

*Choosing the standard mileage rate.* If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you own, you must choose to use it in the first year the car is available for use in your business. Then, in later years, you can choose to use either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses.

If you want to use the standard mileage rate for a car you lease, you must use it for the entire lease period. For leases that began on or before December 31, 1997, the standard mileage rate must be used for the entire portion of the lease period (including renewals) that is after 1997.

You must make the choice to use the standard mileage rate by the due date (including extensions) of your return. You cannot revoke the choice. However, in later years, you can switch from the standard mileage rate to the actual expenses method. If you change to the actual expenses method in a later year, but before your car is fully depreciated, you have to estimate the remaining useful life of the car and use straight line depreciation.​


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## mp775 (Jun 26, 2014)

LAuberX said:


> It is an expense.
> 
> Write it off.


I doubt it. The 1099 should only show what was actually paid to you. If the fee is already deducted before you're paid, you can't deduct it again.


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## Moofish (Jun 13, 2014)

That's what I was wondering, I guess it would be lumped together with Uber's "commission" which we never have in hand in the first place, so it's seen more as a fee than an expense.


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## London UberExec Driver (Jul 8, 2014)

You should be able to write off (or at least part of) your own mobile phone if you use that to make and receive calls/texts to rider.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

London UberExec Driver said:


> You should be able to write off (or at least part of) your own mobile phone if you use that to make and receive calls/texts to rider.


My plan is to write off a fair amount of my cell phone expense. I did not have a smart phone before Uber.

The $10/week is already taken out of our income, so it won't appear on our 1099. It is already deducted.


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## dallasuberxx (Jul 24, 2014)

I live in Dallas and have just recieved my first $10 fee with no warning! I was on break for a bit and just reactivated I was not told of any changes. I emailed them and they told me I could return my phone or I would have to pay this fee weekly. I told them I thought this is what the 20% was for and I got this reply: "Uber is looking to shift costs to development initiatives designed to empower partners to grow their businesses. Creating innovative products requires tough decisions to be made. The impact of the mobile data fees will be constantly monitored to ensure increased profitability for our valued Uber partners. We appreciate your understanding." I am going to start driving for lyft. Goodbye uber! Lyft has no comission fee's now. When you get big you forget where you came from I guess.


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## dallasuberxx (Jul 24, 2014)

My question is If I don't drive for a week or two do I get billed the $10? even though I didn't use it.


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## dallasuberxx (Jul 24, 2014)

dallasuberxx said:


> My question is If I don't drive for a week or two do I get billed the $10? even though I didn't use it.


Just got the answer to my question. Dallas, TX this was supposedly posted but no one has heard of it.
The charge will be billed regardless if you drive or not... They want you to send in your phone if you go on vacation then turn around and get another one.. Not so easy via mail. I do uber part time so If I don't use uber oftent I will possibly owe them $40 a month or do rides for free if I get behind. NO SIR.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

This basically has the effect of making you work at least $200 of fares per week. At that amount, the $10 fee is an extra 5% cost to you on top of the 20% and $1 safe rider fee uber takes from the rider. Overall, add all this up and perhaps uber is taking 30% of the fare paid.

If you don't work at least that much, this $10 starts getting to be more than 5% extra. On top of everything else, this might be the breaking point where it's not worthwhile. So, in essence, it's a minimum work requirement of about 20 rides per week.

The idea of having to return and pick up the phone while taking time off seems ridiculous. My guess is they do it that way to make it burdensome. This way you will just keep the phone and eat the $10. If it is a data fee, and this is a technology company, surely they could just tell you to leave the phone off. No data would be used. And, they could easily detect and not charge you if it remained off for say 7 days or longer.


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## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

This is not a Data Fee!

This is establishing a new quantifiable income stream so to look good to the Venture Capitalists who are beginning to circle


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## u_no_me (Jun 27, 2014)

Sydney Uber said:


> This is not a Data Fee!
> 
> This is establishing a new quantifiable income stream so to look good to the Venture Capitalists who are beginning to circle


I think that circle is closed. My guess is that the $1.2B they just raised will carry them to the IPO.


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## UberGirl (Jul 3, 2014)

Let's all protest and send them a petition with all our signatures! They will see how many drivers they are about to lose and will think twicetwice


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## Ocgirlcc (Jul 16, 2014)

I'm just gently working it into the conversation with riders who ask about what it's like to drive for Uber or how it works. I get those questions a lot. And they're all saying why don't they just let you have the app on your phone! My tips seem to have gone up since working this into the convo & the fact that it's my car, I pay for gas, car washes, maintenance and the snacks/gum you're enjoying. And I no longer refuse tips ever. :-D


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## runaroundruby (May 3, 2014)

Moofish said:


> When will they just integrate the driver app into the rider app so that we can use it on our own phones already like lyft? for those that don't drive that much, this is a big hit to their income.
> 
> I'm in OC and haven't got this email yet, but I expect it won't be long before we do.


Wow! That seems shitty to me. They charge us $100 for the phones already! That would hit hard. Gas is not getting any cheaper!
Sometimes by end of night, I have averaged only $1 per mile driven. Not counting gas cost for the night.


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## runaroundruby (May 3, 2014)

Ocgirlcc said:


> I'm just gently working it into the conversation with riders who ask about what it's like to drive for Uber or how it works. I get those questions a lot. And they're all saying why don't they just let you have the app on your phone! My tips seem to have gone up since working this into the convo & the fact that it's my car, I pay for gas, car washes, maintenance and the snacks/gum you're enjoying. And I no longer refuse tips ever. :-D


I'm with you on the tips. I thank them very much. Those conversations come up in most night rides I've noticed and yes, it does seem to help the tip situation. Water, Mints and car washes add up but they sure appreciate the details a good driver can provide.


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## LisaB (Jul 20, 2014)

$10 PLUS the gas you use to make that $10. Works out to more then just $10.


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## Django (May 5, 2014)

LisaB said:


> $10 PLUS the gas you use to make that $10. Works out to more then just $10.


Good point. $10 + expenses to generate the $10


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## Tim In Cleveland (Jul 28, 2014)

I've noticed the commission and fees add up to 25% of fares.


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

Tim In Cleveland said:


> I've noticed the commission and fees add up to 25% of fares.


I came close to 30% when you also include the $1 per ride of which uber collects 100% (or eventually if it is currently waived). It's a higher percentage of your fares when your trip lengths are small. Also, factor in all the cancellation fees that don't get paid out for whatever reason after you wasted 15-30 minutes. And consider any secret after the fact fare adjustments for non optimized routes. The Rasier is doing a lot of shaving.

To generate $10 in net earnings takes a bit of work. I would say after all your expenses, it takes between 2-4 rides to net that much. It depends on your average trip length. To say the $10 is covered in one trip is comparing apples to oranges. That money comes out of your net.


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## ModestMuse (Jul 1, 2014)

grams777 said:


> And consider any secret after the fact fare adjustments for non optimized routes.


What does this mean? I've never heard of it


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## grams777 (Jun 13, 2014)

ModestMuse said:


> What does this mean? I've never heard of it


https://uberpeople.net/search/29575/?q=Inefficient+route&o=date


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## Philip Bui (Jul 28, 2014)

Moofish said:


> When will they just integrate the driver app into the rider app so that we can use it on our own phones already like lyft? for those that don't drive that much, this is a big hit to their income.
> 
> I'm in OC and haven't got this email yet, but I expect it won't be long before we do.


_____
I have received this email.
For someone who drives 6 hours a weekend in the OC, I may just send back the phone, and just commit to Lyft.


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## naoshad (Jul 11, 2014)

I'm starting a petition asking to either discontinue the $10/week equipment fee, or to integrate a prompt to tip us before the rating screen. At least that would encourage riders to give us a tip to cover the 10/week fee. 

Link is below in the next post, please sign and share to anyone else interested!


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## naoshad (Jul 11, 2014)

UberComic said:


> They just informed us LA drivers that the $10 weekly mobile fee will begin in September. More nickel and dimeing the drivers.
> 
> View attachment 417


I'm starting a petition to send to Uber's CEO, please sign it and we can the 10/ week waived or add the tip option to the app!


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## naoshad (Jul 11, 2014)

Here is the link to the petition, please sign and share. Let's make our voices heard!

Please join this campaign: https://www.change.org/petitions/ub...nk&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition


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## u_no_me (Jun 27, 2014)

naoshad said:


> I'm starting a petition to send to Uber's CEO, please sign it and we can the 10/ week waived or add the tip option to the app!


I don't necessarily disagree with either of those issues (although there are other alternatives to simply waiving the entire $10/wk fee for everyone), but those are two separate issues that I don't see as directly related as a trade-off.


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## Bill Feit (Aug 1, 2014)

I am a new driver and am wondering about tips. I read an article that says Uber skims a portion of our tips (I believe there is a lawsuit in progress in MA). Is this true? I have had two customers say they were giving me a tip in payment and am wondering how I see this? The Daily trip report has only shown one dollar figure and that is FARE--there is no breakdown. Only 18 trips so far so a real newbie! Won't reveive my firs payment until next Thursday.
Thanks for help


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## UberGirl (Jul 3, 2014)

I agree with u_no_me, those are separate issues and I think uber is very unlikely to tell customers to tip as they'll be going against one of their advertised values. Also, many people believe tip is already included in the fare (not sure if that's how uber informed them or if they just assume it)


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## UberOC (Jul 31, 2014)

I think it's wrong for them to charge us $10 a week I don't even use their 3G which drops all the time I have my own Wi-Fi hotspot and I noticed that I only used .14 gigs in two days. The amount they're charging us for data does not equal out it only equals profits for them. Give me an iPhone 5 on LTE network and I will be more than happy to pay the $10


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## SCdave (Jun 27, 2014)

Hmmm...does the $10 per week data fee coincide with Uber upgrading the Driver App. 1st to add Nav to Pick Up. And now to add Nav to Destination? I'm not condoning...AT ALL...just thinking that this is the basis for the fee. Or should I be saying "Excuse" for charging a fee.

My Phone Nav has my Map loaded on the Phone. Almost never requires Data. I occasionally get prompted to go "Online" to check an address but rarely. There really is absolutely no justification for the $10 per week fee to cover Device Data Usage. I know it, you know it, and Tech Savy Uber knows it.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

Bill Feit said:


> I am a new driver and am wondering about tips. I read an article that says Uber skims a portion of our tips (I believe there is a lawsuit in progress in MA). Is this true? I have had two customers say they were giving me a tip in payment and am wondering how I see this? The Daily trip report has only shown one dollar figure and that is FARE--there is no breakdown. Only 18 trips so far so a real newbie! Won't reveive my firs payment until next Thursday.
> Thanks for help


There is no way for an Uber customer to add a tip using the Uber app. The only way for a customer to tip an Uber driver is to hand them cash.


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## Bill Feit (Aug 1, 2014)

Wow! Thanks OC_Driver--that is the first time I have heard that. That really complicates things because, as many have said, Uber says no tipping. We really can't tell a Client to tip us, so..............SUCKS!!! I wonder how the class action lawsuit in Massachusetts regarding taking unfair advantage of drivers and their skimming tips can exist if the data does not show customers were tipping? I guess I need to use the Client/User app myself sometime to see how it really works--as said before, I am only 1 week new!


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## UberGirl (Jul 3, 2014)

Bill Feit said:


> Wow! Thanks OC_Driver--that is the first time I have heard that. That really complicates things because, as many have said, Uber says no tipping. We really can't tell a Client to tip us, so..............SUCKS!!! I wonder how the class action lawsuit in Massachusetts regarding taking unfair advantage of drivers and their skimming tips can exist if the data does not show customers were tipping? I guess I need to use the Client/User app myself sometime to see how it really works--as said before, I am only 1 week new!


Whatever it is, he said he didn't get notified, he was just waiting for me outside cause he was there


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## Bill Feit (Aug 1, 2014)

Well, got my first tip today. Very nice client asked if she could add a tip to fare on App, thanks to OC_Driver was able to tell her she could not as "tipping is not necessary"--she handed me cash! I loaded her luggage from inside her house and helped her load her small dog in it's tote when we got to the airport.


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## Dadwith2boys (Aug 29, 2014)

Can someone please point to anywhere in any paperwork that is supplied by Uber, where they state there is a $10 Device / Phone / Data charge?

My brother just picked up his Iphone and paperwork and we can't find anything in writing stating they will / can charge that fee.?


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## NightRider (Jul 23, 2014)

I can tell you for sure that when I signed up 1 month ago, it was not in any of the paperwork. They also did not tell me anything about it when I picked the phone up. I did not find out about the charge until I came across this forum. I don't think that has changed.


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## Bill Feit (Aug 1, 2014)

I think biggest negative about Uber is there is a lack of shared info and I know most training and info comes from the Forum!! Not only is there no mention of the phone fee but never knew about the $1.00 rider fee either! Anyone for San Diego know if Web site is being updated?? I have not been able to sign on for 3 days!


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## NightRider (Jul 23, 2014)

Bill Feit said:


> I think biggest negative about Uber is there is a lack of shared info and I know most training and info comes from the Forum!! Not only is there no mention of the phone fee but never knew about the $1.00 rider fee either! Anyone for San Diego know if Web site is being updated?? I have not been able to sign on for 3 days!


What, you want a web site, too? Sheesh, you drivers want _everything_!


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## SCdave (Jun 27, 2014)

Dadwith2boys said:


> Can someone please point to anywhere in any paperwork that is supplied by Uber, where they state there is a $10 Device / Phone / Data charge?
> 
> My brother just picked up his Iphone and paperwork and we can't find anything in writing stating they will / can charge that fee.?


Had to check my old emails; I'd gone back and forth months ago with Uber CSR. CSR response:

_"The fee you're asking about is noted in your contract, which you can find on your dashboard on the left, near the bottom: It reads "Contracts: Rasier Software Sublicense Agreement June 21 2014" When you click on that link, the fees for the devices are outlined on the top of page 8, first paragraph"._

Logon to your Dashboard. Click on Lower Left of page, _Raiser Software Sublicense Agreement June 21 2014_. Sentence which states this is on page 8 of agreement as show below:

_"The Company may charge a fee for the use of the Device or request a retainer fee and/or a security deposit per Device"._

I do not remember if this was in the original contract text when I first signed up in Fall 2013 or if it was amended in the 21 June 2014 Contract Update.

In addition, there is now an additional PDF on the Dashboard lower left for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). 

FYI: There have been/will be times when you login on your Uber Driver App and you can't go online and get a Pop Up with a link to a new/updated agreement. Until you click YES "I Agree", you won't be able to go online again.


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