Uber, the mobile ride-hailing company has to refund its customers in the total amount of $28.5 million to settle two class-action lawsuits. Uber is charged with misleading customers through the use of its marketing and in-app information in regards to how safe the service really is.
The charges said that Uber deceived passengers as its standards for hiring drivers are not as meticulous as Uber's language implies.
One of the lawsuits that was originally filed in December of 2014 claims that the background check procedures and safety measures that Uber applies are by far insufficient, falling short of standards that other commercial providers of transportation have to adhere to.
According to the lawsuit, Uber charges the amount of one dollar per ride on its UberX and UberXL services, representing the charge to support its 'industry leading' background check process and safety measures.
It was also alleged in the lawsuits that Uber did not check its drivers against national sex-offender registries or ID the drivers using their fingerprints, despite using phrases such as being the "safest ride on the road" and having "industry-leading background checks," The Washington Post reported.
The settlement will be paid to the approximately 25 million passengers affected by this. Calculated per customer, the settlement won't even come up to a dollar each.
All customers who took an Uber trip between Jan. 1, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2016 will get their portion of the settlement if the California district court approves it. If that is the case, customers will be informed by an email from Uber, and they can file their claim on a website. The refund will either be given out on a credit card or as credit to an Uber account the customers might currently have.
The lawsuit will also prevent Uber from using the allegedly misleading phrases, like being the "safest ride on the road" or the "gold standard in safety." The name of the "safe ride fee" will also have to be changed to a "booking fee."
The two cases, filed in a federal court in California, are Philliben v. Uber Technologies and Mena v. Uber Technologies.
