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Sticker shock: Uber passengers charged 100 times advertised price

Uber passengers in a few cities experienced massive sticker shock Wednesday when a glitch caused charges that were 100 times the advertised rates for short trips, The Washington Post reported.

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Kelly Rowe, who flew to California from Wisconsin, was trying Wednesday afternoon to get to the 2019 Comic-Con International Convention at the San Diego Convention Center when she approved an Uber ride for $13.08, KGTV reported.

Moments later, she received a fraud alert from her credit card company.

"I got a text from my credit card company asking if it was fraud," Rowe told KGTV. "Uber tried to charge $1,308 to my credit card.

"It was huge sticker shock. I'm sure I swore immediately."

Uber confirmed the glitch but declined to say how widespread the problem was, the Post reported. Social media posters in Washington and San Diego posted issues that not only involved ride-sharing but also Uber's food delivery service, the newspaper reported.

One person tweeted about being charged more than $1,000 for a $15 meal.

"There's no way to get my money back since you don't have contact info," the person tweeted.

Another person said Uber maxed out her husband's credit card by charging $1,905, when the fee was only supposed to be $19.05, according to the Post.

“Not cool, especially on his birthday,” she wrote.

Another social media user claimed on Twitter that his wife was charged, $9,672 for a ride that was supposed to cost $96.72.

"There's no way to get in touch with you," he tweeted.

Uber officials said the fares and charges would be corrected to the proper amount, although the sky-high charges may still appear on debit and credit cards, the Post reported. There is no need to dispute the charges through banks, Uber officials told the newspaper.

Rowe said her bank put a hold on her credit card when the inflated charge came through, but the card was suspended during Comic-Con and she had intended to use it there, KGTV reported.

"I'm very lucky I had (a) credit card attached and not a debit card," Rowe told the television station.