PORTLAND, Ore. – A Portland woman discovered about $100 worth of fraudulent charges from Uber on her credit card. The charges were for rides in California and she has never even used the service.
Brittney Gainer has used Uber Eats though, so she tried to contact Uber and said she got the run around.
“I was mainly just contacting them to let them know my information had been breached through their company in some way or another,” Gainer explained.
Gainer went online and called what she thought was a customer service number.
"I tried contacting them through a phone number I found on their website and when you call that, there was a recording that essentially said this is not a customer service line and to contact their email,” Gainer said.
When she sent an email as instructed, she received an automated response that said the email address does not accept incoming email. It instead instructed her to tap “Help” on the Uber app or go to help.uber.com for answers to frequently asked questions.
“It's pretty comical that there is no way to get a hold of them directly,” Gainer said.
She is not the only one who has experienced issues. Others KGW spoke with said Uber is not worth the trouble.
"I only use Lyft, I specifically avoid Uber,” said ride share user Allison Hom.
Another user, Jessica Robles, said she has been hit with cancellation fees multiple times when drivers did not show up. She said it was too much of a hassle to try to get reimbursed.
"I think maybe that's where they get you, because it's easier for me to just get another car, you know, I'm on the go, so in that case I'll open Lyft and get another ride,” Robles said.
When KGW reached out to Uber, no one would talk over the phone. Instead, we exchanged numerous emails with an employee who works on Uber’s security team. The employee instructed us to go to the “Help” section of the app for answers on what to do if there is a fraudulent charge on your account. After clicking through several options, we found a page that explains the exact scenario Gainer is facing. But the section only explains how to reset your password to protect your account. There is nothing in the section that tells you how to get a refund or contact the company directly. At the bottom of the page, there is a spot that reads, “If you are unable to sign in, please share details below.” The Uber employee said the box to share details about trouble signing in can also be used to submit more information.
As for Gainer, she would still like to speak with a real person.
"I would like some sort of customer service number or contact information where you can actually get a hold of them and talk to somebody,” Gainer said.
Gainer reached out to her bank to cancel her credit card. Her bank is refunding the money from the fraudulent charges. However, she has yet to get an answer from Uber.