Ottawa women dispute Uber's urination claims

Four Ottawa women have come forward after their Uberdrivers claimed they urinated in their cars claims the women insist are false.

In each case, the women woke up the morning after a ride to an email from the ride-hailingservice saying they were being charged an additional $150 fee for urinating in the Ubercars.

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All four incidents occurred overthe last four months, and each woman had a different driver.

Allthe women say the allegations are unfounded.

Cleaning fees go to driver

Early in the morning on May 26, Danielle Hanna left a restaurant on Elgin Street and hailed a ride using the Uberapp. She said everything seemed normal.

The next morning, she received the email.

"They said that I pissedin the car. Can you imagine a 40-year-old woman peeing in a car?" she said.

Hanna wrote to Uberimmediately, disputing the charges. They responded by saying rides are binding agreements.

"They said, 'You signed that contract when you signed up for Uber, and these cleaning fees are on you because the driver said it's you.'"

Under Uber's terms and conditions, passengersare responsible for any damage they cause to the car, inside or out. The cleaning fees imposed by the company range from $20 to $150, depending on the severity of the mess. The fees cover everything fromfood spills to bodily fluids.

Cleaning charges go directly to the driver and are notrefundable, according to Uber.

'They're not budging'

Caroline Dufour was out for a few drinks with afriend on Saturday whenthey decided to hail a ride throughUber.It was raining when the driver pulled up.

The ride was nice, Dufour said, and they arrived home without incident.Then in the morning, her emailarrived.

"They said bodily fluids are biohazardous,and I made [the driver]lose out on other trips."

She said she's contacted Uberdozens of times to demand a refund.

"I messaged them constantly, pestering them ... and they're not budging," Dufour said.

"They prey on drunk people thinking they won't remember.We drank, but we weren't drunk enough to piss ourselves and not remember."

On Monday, Uberoffered her a reduced fee of $50, admittingthe original charge was "not correct" but providing no more information.

Dufour saidthe gesture is not enough.

Photos showed wet seats

In the pictures provided to both women, awet patchon the seat was also visible on the seat back.

"The back of the seat is wet. Seriously, if somebody peed on the seat, it will be just on the seat. Not on the back of the seat," said Hanna.

Uberautomatically charges the cleaning fee once they get a complaint from a driver, and only investigates the driver's claim if the passenger disputes it. The investigation may lead to a reduction in the fee, but often it does not, even if the passenger believes it's unfounded.

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"In terms of reporting to us when there is a dispute, we recommend riders to be as detailed as possible in their description of events.For example, where you sat in the car relative to where the damage is,"Kayla Whaling, an Uberspokesperson, said in an email Monday.

"Drivers must submit photos of the mess/damage shortly after the ride and a description of what happened."

Whaling added that drivers who are found to have submitted false claimscan be terminated.

Uberdid not respond to specific questions about itsfraud investigation process, or whether there's been a rise in false claims resulting in cleaning fees.

City polices companies, not drivers

The City of Ottawa tracks some complaints against ride-hailing services like Uber, but asks patrons to deal directly with the companies. Consequently, only six formal complaints have been made to bylaws services since Uberwas licensed in Ottawa.

"As the City licenses private transportation companies, and not their drivers or vehicles, those complaints were referred to Uber directly to investigate and action accordingly," saidRoger Chapman with the City's bylaw department.

Of the four women who say they were wrongly charged cleaning fees, only one received a full refund. One got a partial refund, one is still negotiating with the company and one paid the fee.

All fourwomen said they have since deleted the Uberapp and will not be using the service again.

Since Oct.4, 2016, when Uber was licensed,about 5.3 million trips have been completed in Ottawa, according to the city.