RIDEGURU
I just got a notice that I was banned from charging the cleaning fee! I have charged about 20 cleaning fees, maybe 1 every other week, as I drive in a big college town and see a lot of puke and spills. I always provide pictures and they always get approved but now all the sudden they are saying I can no longer charge the fee? Did I hit some sort of cleaning fee threshold. Just ridiculous as all my cleaning fees have been legit and obviously Uber thought so too as they were all approved. I can't help it that I driver college kids.
Banned from charging Uber cleaning fee?
Posted 5 years, 11 months ago
Posted In
Rideshare Scams
Discuss known or suspected scams in the rideshare industry. Share your experience here.
Posted By
skipperdan
62
Ride Apprentice
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Comments
My plan is to consider who is going to puke and deny them a ride. I have taken one or two, but I make every effort to ensure they will not get sick. i.e. ride very smoothly. Play soft music softly. Give them a barf bag and ensure they can use it if they need it. I also tell them that if they puke it is going to cost A LOT of money! IF they need to puke I wil stop and they can get out.
I find it hard to believe that after 20 pukes, it is even possible to ride in your vehicle with the windows closed. At that point I would have removed all the carpet and ensured all the seats were vinly or leather.
In no way am I wishy washy about it either.
Lastly, no open containers. Perioud.
My plan is to buy an old used cop car for my ubering. Advantages:
Disadvantages:
I think your plan might be better...
Plus a place to store your assault rifle, donuts, and weed for framing black people.
Open container is illegal only in some states, right? I wonder if you have the authority to enforce that if isn't illegal.
I was curious so I looked it up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_open-container_law
It's weird. There is a federal law that basically says that states have to have a law that bans open containers in vehicles, including in the passenger area. BUT. Not all states are actually in compliance with that federal law. In other words not all states actually have this law that they are required to have. 39 states are in complete compliance, and 4 more do ban it, but not quite to the level of compliance with that federal law. So the upshot is there are still 17 states where you can presumably have an open container in a vehicle, legally.
Of course he does. It's his car and he can set his own rules. People have a choice of not taking a ride if they don't like the rules. This is confirmed further by the fact that we are independent contractors.
It's legal to smoke in your car, have a pet in your car, and puke in your car, but you certainly can't and wouldn't in someone else.
I think he's talking about any containers. Soda, red bull, juice, whatever. Anything that can spill. I don't blame him.
Since we were discussing puke, I thought he meant alcohol. I still think he is.
That's a hard sell if he is referring to all containers. Half the people I drive in the morning have Starbucks cups in their hands. That's not even an exageration.
round these parts its dunks but yeah you're probably right
HI,
I meant alcoholic beverages. It is illegal drive with an open alcoholic bev. in the car here. I politely tell them that I don't want to be a downer, but this is my only source of income and I cannot risk losing my DL. Please take a min to drink it, or dump it before getting in the car or I cannot give them a ride. Most are happy to comply. So far only one was rude and prefered to call another driver. (Man his wife was upset... at him.)
Open drink containers with lids (esp Coffee) are allowed. Maybe a soda with a lid. If no lid... then please drink it or dump it.
Yes, some people lie and claim the drinks are virgin. If they are in red solo cups or clear old fashioned/Rocks glasses... Most likely they have liquor or beer... and have no lid. Use best judgement.
Food: Riders are not allowed to eat in my the car... (with the exception of some dry snacks.) I will give them a few minutes to finish if necessary.…
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HI,
I meant alcoholic beverages. It is illegal drive with an open alcoholic bev. in the car here. I politely tell them that I don't want to be a downer, but this is my only source of income and I cannot risk losing my DL. Please take a min to drink it, or dump it before getting in the car or I cannot give them a ride. Most are happy to comply. So far only one was rude and prefered to call another driver. (Man his wife was upset... at him.)
Open drink containers with lids (esp Coffee) are allowed. Maybe a soda with a lid. If no lid... then please drink it or dump it.
Yes, some people lie and claim the drinks are virgin. If they are in red solo cups or clear old fashioned/Rocks glasses... Most likely they have liquor or beer... and have no lid. Use best judgement.
Food: Riders are not allowed to eat in my the car... (with the exception of some dry snacks.) I will give them a few minutes to finish if necessary... and leave the greasy trash behind.
Greasy to go bags...(and boxed pizza) I will pull a towel/blanket out of the back and ask them to place it on it. I tell them that grease is a bitch to get out, it is my car, sorry but I have to protect my livelyhood. Apologize for any inconvenience and I do not start the trip until it is all good.
Anyone who looks at my car will see that it looks exceptionally clean despite its age. No fragrance (I can't handle it.) or bad smells. No Smoke or stains either... Yet.
I mean... if the car was messed up... then I think they would get upset. People can see that I care a lot about the appearance of the car and often comment on it. I have not had anyone get upset about it yet, or had to turn anyone away for food... Yet.
If they were drunk... then definitely no food or drinks... Period. well, maybe bottled water. (to go bags in the trunk or on the floor on a towel)
Not working late nights. I don't want the puke, would have to sell the car. No tolerance for fragrances... and hate the smell of puke.
The drama kind of gets old too.
Most people want to be good and sometimes a line has to be drawn. I always try to be nice about it and try to stay positive. Most people, given the opportunity will chose to be nice if we are respectful and pleasant but firm. (sorry, I had to say that because I dont want you to think I am unpleasant to my pax. with these rules. ) So far I have only had to cancel and leave one customer with an open container to get another driver. I would not hesitate to do it again... not in the slightest.) I immediately contact the rideshare co.
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These are good and reasonable rules. The thing about solo cups is funny. I don't care if there is alcohol in it or not, a solo cup without a cover is a spill waiting to happen. esp. with drunk people. I have some experience in these matters from the other side as well, I wouldn't get into my own car with a solo cup, drunk or not :D
The most important part of all of this is the barf bag. That is key. Even the drunkest of the drunk can usually make it into a bag. Usually. Of course, hopefully they take it with them and don't just dump it under the seat for you to deal with later...
barf bag is key.
The best is when they mostly make it into the barf bag but jsut a little spills over - minimal clean up but big cleaning fee pay day :)
It's not just about the number of cleaning fees, my friend. So many people think Uber has an aglorithm for this and that, but at the end of the day, it's about how many people disputed your cleaning fees. More conflicts you are associated with, more likely Uber will crack down. Pretty simple.
You should read this article. It'll explain everything:
What is the cleaning fees SCAM by Uber drivers? Should I be concerned? How do I avoid them?
Well this one is new for me because I’ve never heard of Uber doing this for someone. Sure, I can understand banning drivers who abuse it or do it fraudulently, but the driver in this post says Uber has approved all of his cleaning fee requests. So is Uber blocking him from charging for any more puke cleaning fees?
I reached out to Uber for comment on this, and an Uber spokesperson said they review every cleaning fee request, and if a request is found to be fraudulent that they will deny it and potentially deny future requests. However, if the cleaning fee is “paid out” then the driver can continue to submit requests. That doesn’t answer this person’s question so much though. So basically, it’s still a mystery to me!
Our very own Will Preston was on the San Diego news a year ago because he “Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Puke” by basically charging over $1,100 in cleaning fees via actively seeking pukers (so he could ch…
Read more...
Well this one is new for me because I’ve never heard of Uber doing this for someone. Sure, I can understand banning drivers who abuse it or do it fraudulently, but the driver in this post says Uber has approved all of his cleaning fee requests. So is Uber blocking him from charging for any more puke cleaning fees?
I reached out to Uber for comment on this, and an Uber spokesperson said they review every cleaning fee request, and if a request is found to be fraudulent that they will deny it and potentially deny future requests. However, if the cleaning fee is “paid out” then the driver can continue to submit requests. That doesn’t answer this person’s question so much though. So basically, it’s still a mystery to me!
Our very own Will Preston was on the San Diego news a year ago because he “Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Puke” by basically charging over $1,100 in cleaning fees via actively seeking pukers (so he could charge the cleaning fee).
Now that I think about it though…it’s like…a lot less work to clean up puke than it is to drive for 10 hours…maybe I should start hunting for pukers too…
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I've never heard of this happening. This is gonna suck the next time you have someone puke in your car
20 cleaning fees?! What are you charging cleaning fees for, that is crazy. I have been driving for 2 year and have only ever filed 2 cleaning fees.
Puke, puke, puke my friend. Drunk college kids. Also food stains.
You know you can turn away people who have food or make them throw it out before hand. You also dont have to drive a "way over the limi drunk" person. Maybe you need to be pickier about who you pick up.
I hav been driving for over 3 years (Lyft and Uber) with thoudands of rides completed and have never had a spill or mark on the seats or floor. Granted I only drive daytime hours M-F and no weekends.
My car is always spotless inside and out and I think this has significant influence on pax so when they get in they usually dispose of their drinks and food or are extra careful during the ride.
I don't prohibit food or drinks in the car (just smoking and fighting).
You only drive on the weekdays? Smart. That's how drivers get their say and dictate their day/preference. I like that about Uber. I knew of a retiree who just wanted the leisurely drive of Saturday and Sunday mornings. he enjoyed his 5 hour shifts tremendously.
Then again, it may be different for a fulltime driver. I drive over 50 hours a week, and M-Th are the slow days and don't make real money. I often find that working 6 hours on Friday and 6 hours on Saturday can yield as much as I make in a whole work week. I guess it depends on where you are.
Some drivers forbid food in the car? Crap, is that rude for me if I had food? It didn't even cross my mind. I eat fast food and drink my coffee all the time. Granted I mak sure to be clean and leave no mess.
Keywords here are "I only drive daytime hours M-F and no weekends".
The only spills/pukes I have ever had were from weekend drunk people.
Im not saying you are abusing the system but there are drivers who abuse the cleaning fee, 20 cleaning fees is a ton and I am sure you triggered Ubers algorithm to mark you as abusing the system
Im not saying your abusing the system, but your abusing the system lol
20 is nuts Even if you worked every weekend and solely focused on frat parties and bar last calls at 2:00AM, I doubt you will do that in a year.
Uber has been putting up a fight against drivers around clean up fees, because this practice has increased significantly and there are so scams around it.
For example, they now check the photos that you upload for inconsistencies and verify its origin. The first line of defense is completely automated where it checks for inconsistent timestamp, and they also them against other pics other drivers have submitted, and so on. Maybe I will start another thread for this.
It's easy to falsify the pictures especially if you've supposedly taken so many on your phone! Seems like a legitimate way to make sure Uber drivers aren't taking advantage of the fee.
I had no idea there was a threshold. Makes sense though, drivers taking advantage of messes is a big problem. I have hear of drivers collecting fees for a tiny amount of dirt tracked in a car from shoes. That is just part of being a driver, getting a little dirt in your car...