What to know
- A Scarborough woman was charged a $169.57 cleaning fee for a $14 Uber ride, and claimed it was a mistake.
- She waited over two weeks for a refund, while this large fee placed a financial strain on her as her mother’s caregiver.
- Uber initially offered to lower—not remove—the fee despite her protests.
- Uber has now refunded her and admits a mistake in this instance.
What was supposed to be a $14 Uber ride turned into a $169.57 cleaning fee for one Scarborough woman – money she says she relied on to care for her mother. After two weeks of fighting for a refund, she finally got her money back. Uber has since refunded the charge and admits it should have resolved the case sooner.
Emily Mills posted her story to TikTok last Friday, but told Now Toronto the incident actually happened on April 1.
@soemilymills Uber tried to charge me $200 for a $14 ride😭 #uber ♬ original sound – Emily Mills
“It was like 3:30 a.m., and I was just Ubering across Scarborough. It wasn’t even that far of a ride. It was only supposed to be like $14… It was like a rainy night… The next morning, I saw there was a large portion of money missing,” Mills said.
That’s when Mills opened the app and saw a $169.57 cleaning fee, which she didn’t expect, as her driver was polite and never gave her any “red flags” that this might happen.
Upon seeing this large fee, Mills immediately reached out to Uber.
“They sent me a picture of a very unclean car… It was a very dusty, dirty car. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time. You could see a little bit of rainwater, but the other mess was clearly embedded in the vehicle prior to me riding in it,” she explained.
When Mills told Uber this wasn’t her mess, they allegedly offered to lower the price to $120.
“I was not okay with that. I didn’t want to have any cleaning fee because I didn’t make a mess in their car, besides the rainwater, which is like a natural mess,” she said.
Two and a half weeks later, the ride was readjusted to the original $14.32 price.
Under Uber’s policy, cleaning fees are intended to compensate drivers when a rider leaves behind significant messes—such as vomit or substantial food spills—that prevent the vehicle from accepting additional trips. Ordinary wear and tear, small amounts of dirt or rainwater are not meant to qualify for the charge.
The financial strain behind this incident
To make matters worse, beyond the two and a half weeks during which the money was withheld from her account, it took three to five business days for Mills’ bank to release it to her.
“I’m a caregiver for my mom right now, and I rely on rideshare to get around. That was my Uber money for the rest of the month, and it really put a financial strain,” she shared. “We weren’t able to go anywhere for the rainy month of April. We were kind of waiting for that money to come back.”
How this experience made Mills lose trust in the app
Mills shared that she’s had previous experiences with lost items or simple matters, but never with such a large amount of money being taken from her account.
“And they made me wait two and a half weeks to even get the money back, and the photo alone just kind of sends me into a rage because if a real person looked at the photo, they would be able to tell the mess in the car was a long-term mess,” she said.
Now, Mills started taking pictures of the car’s condition before entering and after leaving, to prove that any mess in the car was not hers.
How Mills wishes Uber had handled the situation
“Maybe reviewing the photo prior to taking money from my bank account so I wouldn’t have had to deal with the situation at all,” she suggested. “Or dealing with it that day or within three days. Honestly, three to five business days seems like the responsible time.”
“I think Uber should vet their drivers a little better because it seems like Uber’s kind of getting a bit messy, and their customer service too,” Mills stated.
Uber responds to the complaint
An Uber spokesperson told Now Toronto that they have a “zero tolerance for fraudulent activity,” insisting that riders who believe they’ve been incorrectly charged should immediately report the incident for investigation.
“In order for riders to enjoy safe, comfortable rides, drivers work hard to maintain clean vehicles. Cleaning fees are intended to reimburse drivers when a rider causes significant damage or leaves behind a mess, such as vomiting or a substantial food spill, that requires cleaning before the vehicle can accept additional trips. They are not intended for ordinary wear and tear or minor amounts of water or dirt,” part of the statement reads.
Riders who believe a cleaning fee was incorrectly applied are encouraged to dispute directly through the app.
“While review times can vary depending on the circumstances and the information required, we recognize riders expect timely resolutions,” Uber added.
Uber recognizes their mistake in Mills’ situation.
“We are continually working to improve the speed and clarity of our support experience. In this instance, we recognize there were opportunities to better explain the charge and resolve the concern more quickly,” part of the statement reads.
“Where we determine a cleaning fee was applied incorrectly, the charge is reversed. In confirmed cases of fraud or abuse, we take appropriate action, including removing the driver from the Uber platform,” Uber added.
Mills now photographs the inside of every Uber before and after each ride, a precaution she says she never imagined she’d need to take.
