A man in the UK woke up with more than a hangover when he realised Uber had charged him over $60,000 AUD (£35,000) for a 15-minute trip in Manchester after he accidentally set the destination to Australia.
Oliver Kaplan had just finished work and ordered an Uber to meet some friends for a drink, with the driver picking up the trainee chef from his workplace, taking him four miles to a nearby pub, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Kaplan woke to a message the next morning saying he had insufficient funds for the trip, which totalled £35,427.97 ($61, 760.48 AUD) instead of the expected £10-11.
“I ordered an Uber like I do most nights on the way home from work and everything seemed normal,” Kaplan told the newspaper. “The driver arrived, I got in the Uber and he took me exactly where I was meant to be going.
“It was a 15-minute journey – tops – and the bill was said to be between £10 and £11, charged to my debit card. But when I woke up hungover the next morning, the last thing I expected was a charge of over £35,000!”
It took Uber’s customer service team some time to find the source of the issue – Kaplan’s destination had somehow been set as Australia.
Kaplan said it was fortunate he didn’t have sufficient funds to clear the charge, as it would have led to more of a headache.
“If I had have had that sort of money, I would have had to chase them for a refund – it could have landed me in all sorts of financial trouble,” he said. “I’m still wondering how the location was even set to Australia in the first place, seeing as it is the other side of the globe. Thankfully they were really good about it, and made it right straight away – but it was a stressful half an hour to say the least.”
Uber corrected the fare to £10.73 and apologised for any “inconvenience” caused.
