A woman’s viral story about an Uber driver in Perth attempting to charge a $5 ‘aircon fee’ has left viewers baffled and the rideshare company scrambling to make amends.
Hockeyroo Lexie Pickering had landed in Perth Airport earlier this week, returning from an interstate hockey competition in Hobart.
Temperatures in the WA city had soared to a sweltering 35C, prompting the 24-year-old to splurge $50 on a comfortable Uber home.
Lexie said the ride had been going smoothly, with the driver offering assistance with her hockey equipment and making small talk about her travels.
The Uber driver even offered her a chance to cool down — but unbeknownst to Lexie, the cool air would sadly come at a cost.
The driver allegedly told the 24-year-old she would have to pay an additional $5 fee if she wanted air conditioning turned on.
“I was a bit taken aback and laughed and said no,” she revealed to news.com.au.
“Then he said to me, ‘It’s really hot today’, and I agreed, but said there’s no way I’m paying more for aircon.”
Despite her insistent no, the driver then used her profession to try to justify the shock fee.
“He insisted I would have money as I played a high level of hockey, insinuating I should be able to pay him more,” she recounted.
After the “uncomfortable” ride, Lexie left a two-star review and took to TikTok to share her experience with friends.
“He is suffering with me,” she captioned the clip.
The Hockeyroo’s video quickly went viral, amassing more than 840,000 views in two days.
Comments from incredulous viewers quickly flooded the post, baffled over the driver’s bold request.
“An Uber driver charging extra for air conditioning is like a cafe charging extra for sugar in coffee,” one commenter wrote.
“$5 is actually daylight robbery,” another said.
Some questioned the legality around the situation: “Surely that’s illegal???”
Someone else queried if the baffling request was just limited to air conditioning: “Did he also charge you for the seat belt or the music?”
Camera IconThe rideshare company issued a statement apologising to Lexie and saying they are investigating the request. Credit: AAP
After the video gained attention, Uber issued a statement saying they were “shocked” by Lexie’s experience.
“We apologise to the rider for her experience, and we are actively investigating the matter,” a spokesperson for Uber said.
“Fraudulent activity such as driver-partners encouraging riders to pay for any part of their trip outside of the Uber platform is a breach of Uber’s Community Guidelines, and this kind of behaviour can result in driver-partners permanently losing access to the app.
“Passengers should not be asked to pay extra for standard aspects of a trip, including air conditioning.
“We encourage all riders to reach out to our 24/7 customer support team if they encounter any issues on a trip, where we will work closely to investigate and take appropriate action.”
Lexie said it was the first “bad” experience she had with Uber, and she hopes the driver was not acting maliciously with the request.
“I just sat in silence the rest of the drive, and he never put the aircon on but rolled his two windows down at the front instead,” she explained
“I hoped it wasn’t anything more malicious, but that he just wanted more money out of me. It was a hot and quiet drive, and I made it home okay.”
In the comments of the video, Lexie has confirmed that Uber has since issued a full refund for the ride.
PerthNow has contacted Lexie for comment.