Uber rider hit with "disgusting" $365 bill, warns of price gouging

Jul 5 2022, 1:47 pm

A man trying to head back to a friend’s house after attending the Born & Raised Festival in St. Catharines this weekend was left with a hefty $365 Uber bill.

Daniel McNaney tells Daily Hive he made plans to spend the night at his friend’s house in Burlington rather than waste money on “hyper inflated” hotel prices in the area.

The construction project manager based in Toronto says he requested an Uber for him and a friend once the festival wrapped up at 11 pm Saturday night.

Having already taken an Uber from Burlington to St. Catherines earlier that day, McNaney expected to pay around the same amount ($73) or as much as $120 given that it was peak hours. Little did he know the company would charge him five times the original amount.

Uber screenshots

Dan McNaney

When the $365 fee appeared on the screen, he assumed it was a glitch and kept refreshing the app. Tired and in desperate need of a bed to lie on, he went ahead and accepted the “blatant and disgusting” surge price.

‘”I don’t understand where they get their math from,” he says. “At this point we were really left without any other options and a bit disgusted at the fact that a company who provides ride sharing with such a strong foothold in Ontario can go ahead and charge the rate of a hotel room to get two people home safely.”

The $365 total included a standard booking fee and a $10 out-of-region surcharge.

“[Uber] is getting away with surge prices and it’s only getting worse,” he says, adding that it this experience should come as a warning to other riders.

McNaney says he has contacted Uber a number of times to dispute the fee. The company has since responded and apologized for the “dynamic pricing” and offered to add a $15 Uber credit to his account.

Natalia BuiaNatalia Buia

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