Florida man claims Uber fraudulently charged him $80 cleaning fee

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida man has a warning for other Uber passengers to check their bank accounts and final receipts after a ride.

John Seglem said he was fraudulently charged $80 for a cleaning fee, even though he didn’t make a mess in the vehicle.

Last month, Seglem was in Orlando for a business trip.

He took a three-minute Uber ride from a restaurant to his hotel on International Drive that cost him $7.

Seglem even threw in a $7 tip.

He was shocked to later see that an $80 charge was tacked on for a cleaning fee.

“I was there on business,” he said. “Everything was fine with the ride. I was literally in the Uber for three minutes and we traveled 0.91 miles.”

He said after he complained, the company provided picture proof that showed vomit on the floor, but in the photos, it looks as though it’s daytime outside.

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Seglem used the Uber at 1 a.m.

“You can tell the difference between natural sunlight and artificial light,” Seglem said.

Dozens of similar complaints about the company were found on the Better Business Bureau’s website from people questioning what they called fraudulent charges for cleaning fees.

“The fact that Uber does not require time or date-stamped photos from their drivers just basically leaves us wide open to fraud," Seglem said.

In a statement, Uber said, "In some cases there are challenges for our support teams to look into these types of situations and we are enhancing our internal processes and investing in additional resources for investigating these claims."

Seglem advises passengers to now go so far as take their own pictures when exiting an Uber.

"It seems as though the burden of proof definitely lies on the rider," he said.

After some back and forth, Seglem was refunded his $80.

Cox Media Group