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Woman billed $100 for spilling Skittles in back seat of Uber | TribLIVE.com
U.S./World

Woman billed $100 for spilling Skittles in back seat of Uber

Chris Pastrick
Chris Pastrick
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Next time you grab an Uber, you might want to make sure you don’t leave anything behind.

Especially if the car’s owner has to clean it up.

Days after her ride, a woman in England got a bill from the ride-sharing company for 80 pounds — aka $100 — to clean up about 20 Skittles she and her boyfriend had spilled on the backseat floor of the car.

In the post, the woman, who appears on Twitter as Lydia Williams, includes a screenshot of the bill by Uber, which reads “A mess that resulted from your trip required professional cleaning. … Due to the severity of the incident on this trip, a cleaning fee of ￡80 was applied.”

The photo shows the damage.

Skittles-Spill

Williams wrote that she and her boyfriend were solid customers saying, “We did tip and we brought him a meal deal.”

Williams said she tried to appeal the bill’s exorbitant fee, but posted that Uber wrote back insisting: “We appreciate you feel the cleaning fee charge was higher than you expected. Please be assured that cleaning fees are assessed and charged according to the extent of the mess and reasonable cost of cleaning.

According to the note Williams posted, Uber reviewed the incident and concluded “the fee has been charged correctly.”

A spokesperson for Uber talked to the U.K.’s Mirror website. “The Uber app is based on mutual respect for both riders and drivers. For licensed drivers who use the app, their vehicles are their place of work and any damage or mess can mean they are unable to continue working.

“When a driver claims a cleaning fee, they are required to provide us with the details of the trip and the incident as well as photographic evidence and a validated cleaning receipt.”

Williams posted that she offered to pick up the offending Skittles without saying whether that offer was accepted or rejected by the driver.

It’s likely she will be more cautious on her next ride.

Or, at least, she’ll keep her Skittles sealed.

Chris Pastrick is a Tribune-Review digital producer. You can contact Chris at 412-320-7898, [email protected] or via Twitter .

Categories: News | World
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