Keith and Audra Tubin used Uber to go to a music festival last week, but they had no idea the bill would be so high.
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Thousands of people go to Summerfest, and Uber is one option for transportation, a service the Tubins have used regularly in the past.
"$200 to get to the first stop," Keith Tubin said. "We asked if he could take us a couple more places. He said no problem. He put it in the computer. I wake up the next morning with a fraud alert on the credit card. $898."
They were shocked.
"I thought he was joking, honestly," Audra Tubin said. "I think I actually said that, 'You are kidding me, right?' And he said, 'No, $898.'"
Keith Tubin said the upfront cost was $214 to an address on 55th Street in Milwaukee. They added a stop on the East Side and two in Brookfield, and they say the driver never told them how much more it would cost.
"Not at all," Keith Tubin said. "He just put it in his little computer and said, 'Hey, where do you want to go, give me the address.' And off we go."
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In emails back and forth, Uber said the surge price was 8.6 times the normal cost and upfront price is no longer relevant when stops are added.
"We thought maybe they will negotiate, because nobody said anything," Audra Tubin said. "And when he contacted them, they said, 'Nothing, we can't do anything.'"
Uber's response was equally shocking to the Tubins.
"We have reviewed the trip," they wrote. "The fare you were charged is within our estimate for a trip from your pickup location to destination. As a result, the fare was not adjusted."
Now, they are looking for other options.
"We could have rented a limo for the whole night and had room for other people," Keith Tubin said. "And probably, you know, saved money."