colombianherald.com

Minuto30.com .- What should have been a daily journey from the José María Córdova Airport to the south of the Aburrá Valley became a financial nightmare for citizen Johan Coy. Through their social networks, the user reported a disproportionate charge by the Uber platform, which went from an estimated rate of $127,460 to an actual charge of $1,624,942 COP.

The complaint, which has gone viral, reveals the flaws in the automatic charging systems and, above all, the ineffectiveness of the customer service channels of these applications.

The billing ordeal: From 127 thousand to 1.6 million

According to Coy’s story, after arriving at his destination in Sabaneta, he received a notification from his bank (Bancolombia) with the million-dollar payment. When reviewing the application, the race actually appeared for that astronomical value, equivalent to almost 13 times the initially agreed price.

Chronology of “incompetence” in support:

First response: An advisor identified as Melida M told him that the race “in effect” cost $1,752,000, but that they would make an “adjustment” to leave it at $1,678,464.

Ridiculous “refund”: The platform offered a refund of just $73,938 pesos, a figure that does not solve the underlying error.

Chat closed: Support terminated the case because the user took more than a minute to respond to one of the messages.

“Bancolombia confirmed to me that they cannot do anything to reverse that purchase and that the only ones who can do it are Uber,” said the affected person, faced with the helplessness of seeing his money withheld.

Uber’s response: An automated message

Despite the seriousness of the complaint and the amount involved, the public response from the official Uber Colombia account on

This response has generated even more indignation among users, who criticize the use of automatic responses or “Artificial Intelligences” for cases where a person’s assets are seriously compromised.

Screenshots attached by the complainant in his X thread

What can a user do in these cases?

Experts in consumer law suggest that, in the absence of a solution from the company, the next step is to take advantage of Law 1480 on Consumer Protection and present the complaint to the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC).

Thread

Johan Coy narrates the serious situation through X like this

@Uber_Col: Today they charged me $1,624,942 COP for a trip from José María Córdova airport to Sabaneta that the app marked at $127,460. This is what happened (1)

Today I took an Uber from José María Córdova airport to Sabaneta. The cost of that race was $127,460, which is an approximate value of what that trip normally costs. (2)

When I got home, I received a message from the bank indicating that Uber had charged me a value of $1,624,942 pesos.

Follow the WhatsApp channel
Medellin City

I thought it was an error in the message. (3)

I entered the app and, indeed, the race appeared for that value.

I contacted Uber support to help me with this, but Uber support is one of the most incompetent and unhelpful things I have ever seen. (4)

When presenting the case, an “advisor” named Melida M told me that yes, the race had indeed cost $1,752,000, but that they adjusted the trip so that it cost $1,678,464. (5)

According to them, they gave me a refund of $73,938 pesos and ended the chat because it took me more than a minute to respond. (6)

Then I had to open another case and wait again to be told they were going to review the case with another team.

This happened at 11 in the morning and until now they have not given me any solution. (7)

Bancolombia confirmed to me that they cannot do anything to reverse that purchase and that the only ones who can do it are Uber. (8)

With such disastrous customer service, I am forced to present this case here, in the hope that a real person who works at Uber can help me and not those bad artificial intelligences that they put in support. (9)

Uber’s response

@Uber_Col

To provide you with the best service, report this directly in the app. Select Account > Help and choose the appropriate topic, or visit http://help.uber.com
. We will review your message and respond to you through the app as soon as possible.

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