BALTIMORE — Several Maryland rideshare customers say they were wrongly accused of damaging their driver’s back seat then charged a cleaning fee. Their short Lyft rides went from under $20 to nearly $100.
Angie Barnett, president and CEO of the BBB of Greater Maryland, is seeing an increase in these reports in the area.
“BBB is reporting on a vomit scam, actually the ‘Lyft vomit scam,’" said Barnett. “Rideshare drivers, some of them, deceptively are charging cleaning fees to their riders and saying there’s bodily fluids on the seats.”
A 93-year-old woman believes she recently fell victim to this scam.
“The charge was very reasonable, around $16 for a 10–15-minute ride, but then under that they had an $80 charge for damages, and this shocked me. I couldn’t have imagined what I could’ve done to the car to cause damages,” she said.
She asked that she not be identified because she’s worried about the driver’s response. The woman disputed the charge with Lyft and the company sent back photos supposedly taken by the driver.
“What looked like the backseat of a car with what looked like some liquids spread over the seat. I didn’t have any drink, or anything, no liquid. I would’ve known about it,” she added. “I thought maybe it’s because I’m a senior citizen, but I understand, and I’ve heard now it’s happened to a lot of people that aren’t.”
It also happened to Sophia Alston’s minor daughter.
“They had charged her $17 for the ride and then an additional $80 for damages,” said Alston.
Lyft sent a photo of the damage via chat, which showed some kind of chunky white substance on a backseat.
“I was actually FaceTiming with her the entire ride because she was upset with something at work so she had nothing in her hands but the cellphone,” Alston recalled.
These riders tried speaking with a Lyft representative, but couldn’t find a customer support phone number.
“I tried to phone them and at that time there was no way to contact them,” the woman said.
She added that no one asked for her side of the story before charging the cleaning fee.
“Some complaints have said, you know, I rode in a car with leather seats, this photo is one with cloth seats,” said Barnett. “Uber or Lyft are just saying sorry, it’s your word against theirs and we need to recoup that driver’s fee.”
WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii contacted Lyft about these two incidents and their response to the “Lyft vomit scam.” In an email, a Lyft spokesperson wrote:
"We take damage disputes very seriously. Lyft’s support team investigates each incident individually and makes a determination based on the evidence available, such as photos and statements from both the driver and rider."
Lyft found that the evidence was insufficient in the senior rider’s case and refunded her, but evidence was sufficient in the case involving Alston’s daughter.
Instead of disputing the charge further, Alston had her daughter delete the app.
“I felt like they took the driver’s side, and it didn’t matter what the passenger was saying,” said Alston.
Sofastaii also asked Lyft whether the driver in the senior rider’s case had a history of charging bogus cleaning fees and if they’re still on the platform. A Lyft spokesperson responded: “Thank you for reaching out. You are welcome to use the statement provided earlier.”
Avoiding fake charges
Barnett recommends riders take a photo of the backseat before ending the ride.
“There’s nothing wrong with quickly getting permission and taking a photo of your surroundings,” said Barnett. “It’s cumbersome, it’s awkward, it’s not the best, but it is one thing. If you find yourself suddenly being notified through the app that you’ve been charged this extra fee, you do want to dispute it with your credit card. That again is why you use a credit card on your account.”
Barnett also encourages riders to take advantage of safety features including sharing your location with a family member or friend. And to monitor where the driver is going in case they go off route.
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