Why does Uber charge cancellation even when the ride is cancelled by the Uber driver? Isn't this messed up?

This happened to me once, I saw the driver just keep driving in circles a block over from me trying to run out the clock. I was charged a cancellation fee when I finally cancelled which I thought was ridiculous. I wrote to Uber and was able to get my money back. Though it did take a while...

Drivers can definitely take advantage of this so yes this can be infuriating! However, on the flip side, some drivers have rides that never show up or are extremely late and as a result they have to cancel the ride to move on with their day. In these situations it is only fair that the driver is compensated for their time waiting. If you were wrongly charged by a driver who was trying to game the system, contact Uber. Many times they will refund you the charge and if a driver gets too many of these complaints then they may be removed from the platform.