Uber Eats has come under fire for allegedly raising an order total at checkout, with a video from a customer drawing more than 10.8 million views on TikTok.
The customer? None other than influencer James Charles (@jamescharleslol on TikTok).
Posted to Charles’s secondary account, the video shows the difference between the total he was shown on the Uber Eats app, and what the app tried to charge his card at checkout.
“Hi Uber Eats, I would love a word because you guys are currently stealing from your customers in broad daylight, and this is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen,” he says. “You can check my account, OK? I spend a lot of money with you [expletive], so I would love to cash a fat check.”
It was not a small difference, he says.
How did he catch Uber Eats lying?
Diving into his Uber Eats order, Charles shows that the app stated the subtotal was $14.10, with a delivery fee of about $6, $4 in taxes and fees, and an applied discount of $5.56 in Uber One credits.
After tipping $4, he expected his total to be $22.48. But when he went to check out and place his order, the total that popped up was very different.
“Let’s back it up, OK? Remember this whole checkout page, my total is $18.48, which if you add my $4 tip to—let’s do the math together shall we—that brings the total to $22.48,” he says. “Then please explain to me how the [expletive] when I go to check out, all [of a] sudden my total is $28.04? Hmm, that’s a lot more than $22.48.”
Charles then points out an interesting discrepancy. “In fact, it’s $5.56 more, which very interestingly is the exact discount that it claims my Uber One credits are giving me,” he says.
He accuses the food delivery service of “sneakily” changing the final price of his order to a higher dollar amount, describing it as falsely advertising a discount.
“You can’t legally advertise a discount which is confirmed by this price here, and sneakily try to add it back on at the end. No,” he says. “But even regardless of the Uber One credits or whatever the f*ck that even means, my total before the discount that isn’t a real discount, was $23.54. If you add on my $4 tip, that brings it to $27.54, which means they’re still stealing $0.50 and not accounting for it. Uber, this is illegal, false advertising. Pay up.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Charles via TikTok and Instagram direct message, and to Uber Eats via email.
How are Uber One credits supposed to work on Uber Eats?
According to the Uber Eats site, Uber One customers can receive free delivery on eligible orders as well as cash back on eligible Uber rides in the form of Uber One credits.
The site does not indicate that there are limitations for what kinds of orders Uber One credits can be used for, meaning that Charles likely should have been able to use them on this coffee order.
Viewers weigh in
Several commenters remarked on the fees charged by Uber Eats, which are common among food delivery apps. However, Uber Eats does have fees that are at the higher end of the spectrum, compared to competitors.
“DoorDash and Uber Eats both SKY ROCKETED in fees and delivery costs the last few weeks and no one is talking about it,” one commenter wrote.
“Once i started comparing the prices on uber eats to the actual restaurant, i realized uber eats was hiking up prices by $2-$3,” another said. “It’s ridiculous.”
“Has anyone noticed when they give you the 30-50% off discounts they always up your fees and taxes so you really pay the same amount as before the discount,” a third said.
@jamescharleslol @Uber Eats ♬ original sound – James Charles
Others said they had noticed the same thing happening with their orders on UberEats. One total price is advertised to them, and a different one is charged to their card.
“I thought I was tripping when this happened to me today,” one commenter wrote. “My uber total said $23 but Apple Pay said $29.07.”
“Oh it’s absolutely absurd,” another commented. “I’ll get something that’s $20-30 and I’ll get a notification that’s ‘you paid $43 with uber.’”
“I can go on a week long rant of me catching them readjust prices, take extra and credit it back, and don’t even get me started on the fact I’m paying for uber one and I have worse offers than my friend,” a third user said.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
