Class Action Alleges Uber Double Deducts Service Fee from Rider’s Fare and ‘Surge,’ ‘Boost’ Charge

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Uber Technologies, Inc. and Rasier, LLC are facing more legal trouble, as the plaintiff behind a new proposed class action claims the companies effectively double charge customers by misapplying a “Service Fee” during times when “Surge” and/or “Boost” multipliers are applied to a rider’s fare. 

Filed in California, the complaint explains that during times of high demand, Uber will apply to a passenger’s fare a separate “Surge” charge, which appears as a separate entry on the rider’s billing and payment statement. Similarly, Uber sometimes will forecast an increased demand and apply a “Boost” charge ahead of time to a rider’s eventual fare for a trip. The lawsuit alleges that instead of deducting its service fee from only a rider’s fare, Uber violates its own terms and conditions by also taking the service fee out of these Surge or Boost charges. Here’s an example from the lawsuit:

“The Fare determined by the Fare Calculation is $11.80. “Surge” is $17.70. According to the Agreement, Uber’s Service Fee should have been 20% of the Fare determined by the Fare Calculation or $11.80 x 0.2 = $2.36. Instead, Uber also took 20% of the Surge or $17.70 x 0.2 = $3.54, for a total

Service Fee of $2.36 + $3.54 = $5.90. But nothing in the Agreement allows Uber to take its Service Fee out of anything except the Fare determined by the Fare Calculation.”