If you were to throw up in a taxi, chances are you are expected to compensate the taxi driver for the cost of the cleanup. The same can be said for Uber rides, but it seems that some Uber drivers are taking advantage of this and committing what is being called “vomit fraud”, where passengers are scammed into paying a surcharge for cleanup.In a report from the el Nuevo Herald, it appears that there are reports of passengers who are suddenly getting bills for the cleanup of vomit, vomit which was never there and never happened. This is usually only discovered after the ride when the passenger is dropped off, and they receive a notification regarding an adjustment in the bill ranging from $80 to $150.
When passengers attempt to reach Uber for help, they are usually given the message, “I understand that it can be disconcerting to receive adjustments to the tariff after your trip ended … In this case, your driver notified us that during your trip there was an incident in the vehicle and therefore a cleanup fee of $150 was added.”
There are even photos which show the vomit, which Uber then considers to be sufficient evidence for them to add the cleanup charges to the final bill. Unsurprisingly it can be hard to tell which cases are real and which aren’t, but the company has told the publication, that they are “actively looking into reports where fraud may be detected and will take appropriate actions on those accounts.”