Uber Overcharges Riders by $7 Million a Month in NYC Alone, Lawsuit Alleges
The civil suit claims the ride-hailing company is using its pricing estimates to soak customers for big money.
The bad news just keeps on coming. One day after Uber admitted to underpaying drivers in New York by tens of millions of dollars, a class action lawsuit was filed in the state against the ride-hailing company, claiming that the company's upfront pricing quotes are responsible for overcharging New York City consumers by approximately $7.4 million, according to multiple news outlets including NBC News and The New York Post.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Jacqueline Gayed of Brooklyn, New York.
According to the lawsuit, the price quotes Uber shows riders before they begin trips using its UberX service are, on average, roughly $2 higher than the rate driver sees for the same trip. An investigation by The Rideshare Guy cited in the lawsuit claims Uber is performing the sly upcharge on roughly half of the 250,000 trips booked using the app in New York City, which adds up to roughly $7.4 million per month.
Gayed's lawsuit alleges Uber is displaying longer routes to riders than the app suggests to drivers in order to explain the discrepancy, according to the reports.
An Uber spokesperson told NBC that the company could not comment on litigation currently pending.
The company is facing a similar class-action lawsuit over upfront pricing filed in California last month; however, that lawsuit comes at the issue from the front seat, so to speak, as it was filed by drivers claiming that Uber's current price quote system is underpaying them, rather than overcharging passengers.
Uber launched the upfront pricing system last year, and has since pushed it out to most markets.