UK Edition
Taken for a ride? Woman charged £84 for five-minute trip after falling asleep in an Uber
Hannah Warman spontaneously decided to take an Uber for a very short distance - about five minutes in a car.
However, she dropped off and fell asleep in the cab, and was taken for a ride.
The driver either accidentally drove very far out of her way - from Stoke Newington to Wembley and round in a meandering circle - or cynically tried to get money out of a sleeping woman by driving as far as he could.
Uber reportedly offered her a partial refund, according to a friend of Ms Warman.
However, she tweeted that she got 'no free rides' after the incident.
The company said they would 'follow up' after what happened and said it was 'unacceptable'.
An Uber spokesman said: “We have given the rider a full refund and are speaking to the licensed driver to establish exactly what happened. However, our systems show that the requested destination changed 3 times during the trip. Unlike other transport options Uber's technology records every trip and sends riders a receipt with a map of the route taken. This transparency and accountability means if there is an issue it can be quickly resolved."
Another follower tweeted her showing a screenshot of when a similar thing happened to him.
The driver took the scenic route - and what should have been a cheap ride cost over £50.
A similar incident occurred in March this year, when a drunk passenger was charged £102 for a £15 journey on a 20-mile detour around London.
Daniel Kaizen ordered a minicab from Old Street to Wood Green, north London, this weekend, a five-mile trip which he said he was told would cost around £15.
But the late-night detour around the capital meant that his journey took five times longer than he expected and the bill came to over £100.
He said that Uber has since apologised and promised to refund the money.