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Driver stunned by $1170 Uber fare for 10-minute trip

A man had to prove his whereabouts to Uber after he was charged $1170 for a close to five-hour ride he didn’t take.

Rich Phillips, 27, a corporate partnerships manager from the UK, complained to the rideshare app upon seeing he had been charged an exorbitant amount for a trip he claimed only took 10 minutes – from Coventry's Coombe Abbey Park to his brother’s house in Delaware Road before arriving at a bar.

According to The Sun, Mr Phillips claims he was at The Ivy House bar all night, and CCTV footage backs up his claims, showing him and his friends at the bar between 10.58pm and 3.28am.

While he was at the bar, the Uber driver went on a four hour and 42 minute trip which spanned over 390km.

A man was charged for an Uber trip which cost more than $1000, when he was actually at a bar all night. Source: Getty
A man was charged for an Uber trip he didn't actually take. Source: Getty

“I was in complete shock when I saw the charge to my bank account from Uber, especially since I was only in the car for about ten minutes,” Mr Phillips said, according to The Sun.

Mr Phillips alerted Uber to the problem, providing the CCTV footage as evidence that he was not in the car, and the rideshare company told him the trip was requested from a device which was “associated” with his Uber account.

Uber then reached out to the driver, who said there was more than one passenger in the car and the passengers requested additional stops along the way, which made it look as though someone took Mr Phillips’ trip request.

“Unfortunately Rich, all riders must be responsible for their own account activity,” Uber told Mr Phillips.

Eventually Uber backed down and refunded Mr Phillips for the trip, which happened in August last year, and apologised to him.

An Uber spokeswoman told The Sun they were always happy to review trips if there was customer concern.

"In this case, we apologise that we did not meet our usual high standards of customer care, and the customer has been fully refunded for the trip,” she said.

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