UK man charged $60,000 for 15-minute Uber trip after location incorrectly set to Australia

A man was charged $61,000 for a 15-minute Uber journey after the driver made a huge mistake when entering the destination for the short trip.

A chef was charged £35,000 ($A60,000) for a 15-minute Uber journey after the driver mixed up Manchester and Australia.

Oliver Kaplan, 22, was quoted £10 ($A17) for the four-mile (6.4km) trip from Hyde to Ashton-under-Lyne.

But the next morning he found Uber had tried to take £35,427.97 ($A61,000) from his bank account, The Sun reports.

His driver is thought to have confused the town in Tameside with one of the same name 16,000 kilometres away near Adelaide, South Australia.

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Oliver Kaplan was charged £35,000 for a 15-minute Uber journey after the driver mixed up Manchester and Australia.

Oliver, was off to meet mates after work.

“The driver took me exactly where I was meant to be going,” he said.

“It was a 15-minute journey tops and the bill was said to be between £10 and £11 ($A17 to $20), charged to my debit card.

“But when I woke up hungover, the last thing I expected was a charge of over £35,000 ($A61,000).

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

“If I 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.”

Oliver's driver is thought to have confused the Tameside town with one of the same name 10,000 miles (16,000km) away in Australia. Picture: The Sun

Uber said: ‘We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused’ Picture: Sarah Matray/NCA NewsWire

Uber later adjusted Oliver’s fare to £10.73 ($A16.17).

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

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

Uber said: “We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

This article originally appeared on the The Sun and was reproduced with permission