Uber admits to misleading Australian users about ride cancellation fees:
Uber has admitted to misleading users about ride cancellation fees and Uber Taxi fare estimates in Australia, with the ride-sharing company set to face AU$26 million in penalties for those practices.
Through an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the consumer watchdog uncovered that Uber's rideshare app displayed a cancellation warning to consumers who sought to cancel a ride saying words to the effect of "[y]ou may be charged a small fee since your driver is already on their way", even when consumers were seeking to cancel a ride within Uber's free cancellation period.
Most of Uber's services provide users with a five-minute free cancellation that commences once a driver has accepted the trip wherein users can cancel their ride without incurring a fee.
Uber engaged in this misleading practice for almost four years, from December 2017 and September 2021, with over two million Australian consumers being shown the misleading cancellation warning.
"Uber admits it misled Australian users for a number of years, and may have caused some of them to decide not to cancel their ride after receiving the cancellation warning, even though they were entitled to cancel free of charge under Uber's own policy," said Gina Cass-Gottlieb, who stepped into the role last month as the agency's first woman chair.
In September 2021, Uber amended its cancellation messaging for Uber services across Australia to "[y]ou won't be charged a cancellation fee".
Uber also admitted that its app deceptively displayed an inflated estimated fare range for its Uber Taxi ride option, which allowed users to book a ride with a taxi rather than a rideshare driver.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @07:35AM (1 child)
I am Sinistar!
I HUNGER!
I HUNGER!
I HUNGER!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @09:38AM
2002 called.
You're 2 decades late with your meme.
Natalie is now a middle-aged soccer mom.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @07:38AM
>monitor randomly makes a cracking sound
>> My whole computer used to do that back in the 90s in my damp basement. Always worried I was going to be electrocuted but it never happened.
>>> cracking
Is it black?
(Score: 0, Redundant) by Puffin on Wednesday May 04 2022, @09:55AM (2 children)
Can't say I am surprised. Canna go in a Land Down Under,
"Cancel my Uber, Mate? You call that a Knife? This is a Knife! And, don't need a gun, if you got a Donk. [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @09:59AM (1 child)
Did you fail German class?
Über means the opposite.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2022, @10:03PM
You think you're so smart making a smiley face out of your 'U'.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday May 04 2022, @09:18PM (1 child)
This is such a weird and small thing to bring to court. I'm not aware of any laws that compel rideshare providers to provide a free cancellation period, so Uber may as well have not provided free cancellation.
Apparently, providing a free service but not updating all documentation to reflect that is now a fine-able offense. God forbid any small app developers forget to update any messages in their app. Don't even think about providing any discounts or promotions, or any new service/feature launches without doing a full audit.
As a user, I would be momentarily happy if all of my bug reports result in million dollar fines, but upon even basic reflection that's a really bad idea.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Mykl on Wednesday May 04 2022, @11:07PM
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is a government watchdog with teeth, and it makes sure that Australians consumers are treated fairly.
Uber was obliged by law to offer a fee-free cancellation within a few minutes and did so. However, their representations to consumers suggested that they'd be charged anyway in an unfair and deceptive way to attempt to dissuade consumers from cancelling the service and taking advantage of the (legally required) fee-free cancellation.
By keeping on top of 'relatively' minor things like this, the ACCC prevents most companies from trying outright ripoff tactics against their customers.