An American couple has shared their experience of being slapped with a nearly $30,000 Uber bill for a ride in Costa Rica that was meant to cost only $55.
The unsuspecting couple, Dominique and her husband Douglas Ordonez, took to social media to share their Uber nightmare.
Douglas Ordonez sparked attention on Twitter with his post which displayed a screenshot of the whopping $29,994 bill from Uber.
"Uber charged me $29,994 USD for an Uber ride in Costa Rica," he stated in his tweet.
The couple had anticipated a simple currency conversion from Costa Rican colones to USD but instead found their account shockingly overdrawn during their fifth anniversary celebration.
Despite Uber's swift response promising a resolution from their specialized team, the couple allegedly had to wait for over a day for a concrete response.
To get their story out there, Dominique uploaded a TikTok video showcasing the erroneous transaction details and their communication attempts with Uber and Altura Credit Union, their bank.
Dominique's video, highlighting the 600% overcharge, swiftly went viral, racking up more than 5 million views. She says she regretted not using a credit card for the international charges.
According to her, Uber was supposed to charge them 29,994 Costa Rican colones, approximately $55.32, instead of the exorbitant sum they were billed.
The couple claims to have been ignored by Uber and their bank, Altura Credit Union, despite numerous attempts to resolve the issue. Dominique expressed her frustration with the customer service and Uber's lack of concrete assistance.
The credit union, she alleges, held her accountable due to a travel notice placed on her card, which supposedly allowed the huge charge to bypass security measures.
The couple was left in the lurch, unable to access their funds while abroad, until the issue was finally resolved.
A ray of hope emerged as the charge was reversed, allowing the couple to continue their vacation. "I ended up getting all my money back," Dominique noted, expressing her disbelief at the bank's oversight and calling it a failure of security measures and negligence.
Uber confirmed the resolution of the issue with her bank, after which Altura sent an apology email to Dominique regarding the conversion mix-up.
The ride-hailing giant told The New York Post, "Ms. Ordonez points out in subsequent posts on Twitter and TikTok, the issue has been resolved with her bank."
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