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A TikToker encouraged people to always check their Uber charges to make sure they aren't being scammed as it happened to her.
Mia Prado–a.k.a. TikToker @lilmiaprado–claimed she was charged $150 for a cleaning fee after taking an Uber home with her girlfriends. The charge was puzzling given the fact neither she nor her friends recalled making a mess during the ride.
Prado posted a TikTok clip about her experience that started with excitement.
"Me and my 2 girls call an Uber home at 5 am. Gets in a hella nice BMW for an Uber X," read the text overlay.
"Starts talking to driver because we feeling hella social. He's a nice college kid!"
But the plot twist to come left her dumbfounded.
"Gets home safely! not even lit just tired...SEES $150 CLEANING FEE CHARGE 2 DAYS LATER...CONFUSEDDDD, I don't think anyone made a mess...Asks and my girls confirm that nothing happened during ride..."
"SO WHY A CLEANING FEE???? Lemme just contact Uber about it...Says there was a mess."
The ride-share company has a policy that protects drivers in the event they pick up a patron who might cause damage to the interior of the vehicle.
For example, if a passenger had too much to drink and vomits in the backseat, Uber drivers can apply for a "cleaning fee," which is charged to the rider's account.
According to Uber's website, the highest charge of $150 applies towards "extensive liquid and smelly messes INSIDE the vehicle including bodily fluids which requires detail and/or steam cleaning, as well as airing and/or drying for long periods of time."
This was the amount Prado was charged, which suggests the alleged damage was due to vomit.
"That definitely wasn't us," stressed Prado, adding, " so we ask for photo proof...UBER SENDS US PHOTOS OF HELLA GROSS THROW UP ON SIDE DOOR, AINT NO WAY."
But upon close inspection of the photos, Prado realized the driver had submitted images of a different car to Uber.
"HOLD UP...... THIS ISNT THE SAME CAR WE WERE IN," Prado wrote.
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
Apparently, this has happened before to other passengers.
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
Prado explained in a follow-up video the driver had an unmistakable aesthetic for the vehicle's interior, and the photos were not reflective of that.
"BMW had interior accent lights on the door, the pic had crusty leather and no lights," she said.
Prado sent the photos she received from Uber to her best friend since she is her "designated investigator."
When the friend googled "throw up in car," the exact same photo submitted by the driver was the seventh image that popped up in her search.
Thankfully, Uber was able to reverse the cleaning fee charge after Prado submitted all the evidence of the scam.
Prado said she asked Uber to look into the driver's history to make sure he wasn't pulling the same scheme on other customers.
"He probably thought we were mad lit and wouldn't remember anything," she presumed.
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
@lilmiaprado/TikTok
In response to a TikToker asking for proof to verify Prado's story, she posted a follow-up clip with the requested nasty images.
In a caption to part 2 of her story, Prado encouraged viewers to "make sure y'all check your charges, don't let these scammers get you. Uber was so helpful."
Her message is a good reminder that the only ride you should be taken for is the one that gets you home.