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When Carl Helwing tries to cancel his Uber One membership, he ends up with a $99 overcharge and a confusing paper trail. Can he get his money back?

Q: I'm trying to resolve a problem with my Uber One membership and recurring Uber Eats errors. I've been trying to cancel my Uber One membership. Uber wouldn't let me, so I disputed the charge with American Express and provided documentation. They gave me a credit.

One month later, when I urgently needed a ride, I discovered I was locked out of my account until I paid $99. After hours of using the chat with the customer service department, a representative told me to pay the $99, and it would then be credited back by Uber. My account would only unlock if they sent the credit back.

I paid the $99, but upon getting a "pending" credit, I later reached out again and identified that only $56 had been credited back, not the full $99.

I then chatted again, and after a long back-and-forth, multiple contacts, and explaining the issue several times, I finally got a call. An Uber representative confirmed and documented in the chat that the $99 charge from earlier, which was currently pending, was voided, along with the $56 credit.

But today I discovered that the $99 charge actually did go through and was not voided. Uber now says it doesn't do live calls and refuses to resolve my problem. Can you help me get my $99 back? -- Carl Helwing, Antioch, Illinois

A: Uber should have refunded you without making you go through all this tangled mess. First, let's get a few terms out of the way. Uber One is a subscription service that offers discounts on Uber rides and Uber Eats. A membership costs $9.99 per month or $96 per year.

You were experiencing problems with Uber Eats, so you decided to cancel your subscription. A representative told you that you would get a full refund for your annual subscription. But then you didn't, so you disputed the charge on your credit card. After you won the dispute, Uber locked your account until you paid up, but it promised to refund you. But then it didn't. Everybody with me so far?

For a variety of reasons, credit card chargebacks are a last resort for billing disputes. One of the reasons, which is not often discussed, is that it can lead to you being banned until you pay what the company says you owe. This is particularly problematic with ridesharing and car rental companies. You could win a car rental dispute and still lose in some way because you're banned. I have more details on how to handle a credit card dispute in my free guide on credit card chargebacks, which is available on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

I would have taken this to a higher level at Uber, especially after its refusal to discuss your case by phone. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Uber customer service executives on my consumer advocacy site.

I reached out to Uber. "It appears that there was a miscommunication regarding the refund process for Carl's Uber One membership," a representative explained. Uber refunded your membership fee, unlocked your account, and added a $25 credit to your account as an apology.

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Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.

(c) 2024 Christopher Elliott

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