Uber driver demands $500 after passenger vomits during trip

A teen had a scary first trip home from clubbing Saturday night after an Uber driver forced him to pay $500 over a mess in the back seat.

An Uber driver is facing disciplinary action after forcing an 18-year-old to pay him hundreds of dollars as compensation for a passenger vomiting in his car during a trip.

It was during the journey home from Jared’s first night out as an adult in Brisbane on Saturday night that one of his friends threw up in the back seat just after 1am.

The driver pulled over immediately on the side of Calam Road in Sunnybank Hills, and demanded that Jared, who didn’t want to share his last name, pay him $500.

He claimed the cost was to cover the standard $150 cleaning fee, as well as $350 worth of business he believed he would be losing as a result of the mess.

Jared, feeling intimidated by the man, apologised and agreed to transfer him the money, which the driver requested he do via his phone’s internet banking app.

His mum, Belinda, told news.com.au the driver wouldn’t let the teens go until the money had arrived in his account, and even then, he demanded they clean up the mess.

She said when one of them asked what he expected them to use, the driver instructed them to take their shirt off and use it as a cloth.

This was the mess left behind after the boys tried to clean the mess. Picture: Supplied

“This was during massive heavy rain. He let three of the boys out, but kept one in and said, ‘you need to clean it’,” Belinda said.

She was by that stage on her way to collect the boys, who had been told they would not be allowed back in the car to be dropped home.

As Belinda pulled up to the scene and Jared yelled out, “mum’s here”, the driver seemed to be in a hurry to leave, she said.

“As I pulled up and gone to get out of the car, he sped off,” she said.

After hearing details about what had happened, she was “so mad”, and helped Jared file several complaints via the Uber app.

Further intensifying their fury was a notification that an additional $75 cleaning fee had been debited from Jared’s account.

After disputing the extra charge, which was tacked on top of the full fare Jared had to pay for the incomplete trip, he received an email on Monday with news he would be refunded for both.

While it was some of the huge expense back in his pocket, what he really wanted was the $500 back that the driver had forced him into paying.

Most of the vomit was scooped up. Picture: Supplied

There was some debris left behind. Picture: Supplied

“He breached Uber’s terms and conditions. He’s not supposed to ask for cash whatsoever,” Belinda said.

“We told them we’re happy to pay for the cleaning, that’s not an issue, the issue is what the driver did afterwards.”

Uber confirmed with news.com.au it had refunded Jared the cleaning fee and trip fare.

“Driver-partners soliciting or accepting payment outside the Uber platform is a breach of Uber’s Community Guidelines and this kind of behaviour can lead to permanent loss of access to the Uber app,” a spokesperson said.

“We encourage riders to report this kind of behaviour through the app, so Uber can take action right away.”