Uber accidentally charged a customer more than $14,000 for a ride that was supposed to cost under $20

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Uber accidentally charged a customer more than $14,000 for a ride that was supposed to cost under $20

Uber

Prathan Chorruangsak/Shutterstock

Uber has had a difficult year.

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  • Uber refunded a Toronto customer after accidentally charging him $18,518.50 in Canadian dollars, which is about $14,418.69 USD, for a ride that was supposed to cost under $20.
  • This is not the first time Uber has accidentally issued an excessive charge.
  • This latest mistake comes at a time when the company is dealing with a number of scandals and setbacks.


Uber has refunded a Toronto customer who was charged $18,518.50 Canadian dollars ($14,418.69 USD) for a ride that should have cost under $20, according to Slate.

The news was first reported by a friend of the customer on Twitter, who claimed that Twitter initially refused to alter the charge for the five-mile, 21-minute ride after it was disputed.

While Uber raises prices during times of high demand, this is not the first time the ride-hailing service has issued a charge that was well above expectations. In 2016, a Philadelphia resident was charged nearly $30,000 for a single ride due to a computer glitch, and in 2015, a woman in Manhattan was charged $12,000 for a ride that originally cost $56.40

This latest mistake comes at a difficult time for the company, which has lost its license to operate in London and dealt with a number of scandals this year, including allegations that the company stole trade secrets from competitors and paid hackers $100,000 to cover up a cyberattack.

Uber did not immediately respond to request for comment. But the company said in a statement to Slate that it had issued a full refund to the customer and said that it had apologized to him for the incident.