Man charged £35,000 for 15-minute Uber journey

Oliver Kaplan, 22, got more than he bargained for when he ordered a ride to go and meet some friends for a drink

A man was charged more than £35,000 for a 15-minute Uber journey after the destination was accidentally set to a location in Australia.

Oliver Kaplan, 22, had just finished a shift and ordered a ride to go and meet some friends for a drink.

An Uber picked the trainee chef up from the Buxton Inn, outside Hyde in Greater Manchester.

It then took him to the Witchwood, a pub in Ashton-under-Lyne - a journey of roughly four miles.

Oliver says the price quoted on the app was between £10 and £11, which he happily accepted - and thought nothing more of it.

But the next morning he was shocked to see a message from Uber saying he had insufficient funds - as the charge was £35,427.97.

Oliver said: “I ordered an Uber like I do most nights on the way home from work and everything seemed normal.

“The driver arrived, I got in the Uber and he took me exactly where I was meant to be going.

“It was a 15-minute journey - tops - and the bill was said to be between £10 and £11, charged to my debit card.

“But when I woke up hungover the next morning, the last thing I expected was a charge of over £35,000!”

Oliver, from Hyde, quickly contacted Uber’s customer services department through the app to find out about the ludicrous charge.

He says they were initially stumped but, after doing a little digging, the worker said they had found the reason.

They said the bill was so high was because somehow the drop off location for the trip had been set - to Australia.

Uber then adjusted Oliver’s fare to the real amount of £10.73 before the money came out of his bank account.

“It said the amount couldn’t be taken because I had insufficient funds,” said Oliver.

“If I had have had that sort of money, I would have had to chase them for a refund - it could have landed me in all sorts of financial trouble.

“I’m still wondering how the location was even set to Australia in the first place, seeing as it is the other side of the globe.

“Thankfully they were really good about it, and made it right straight away - but it was a stressful half an hour to say the least.”

Uber said: “As soon as this issue was raised on Oliver’s account we immediately corrected the fare. We’re very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”