A woman is confused after the Uber she ordered never arrives. Then her Starbucks barista lets her know it could be a scam.
TikTok user Jess Renee (@organizedhumanllc) posted a series of videos about her experience on Aug. 28. “I am literally in a stand-off with an Uber driver and I don’t know what to do,” she says to start the video, which has since amassed more than 940k views.
“I called an Uber at like 2:40. It said it would be there in three minutes,” she explains. “Three minutes goes by; it says one minute. Three minutes goes by; it says one minute. Now I’m getting a little confused.”
So she contacts the driver eight minutes into her wait. “I’m like, ‘Hey, is everything good? It says that you are one minute away, but it’s been like eight,’” she says. “It’s now 3:26 and he still hasn’t canceled.”
Starbucks Barista Airs Out Uber Scam
Jess Renee went to the nearby Starbucks to wait for her ride. That’s when the barista told her that this is actually a common scam.
Uber lists this as one of the fraudulent activities that can get drivers banned from the app. The rules prohibit drivers from accepting fares that they don’t intend to complete or cancel. Drivers do this because the customer canceling puts the driver in a position to claim a cancellation fee.
“So now we’re at the point where we’d rather sit around and risk making money to possibly make money by scamming people who need rides?” she asks. “Also, tell me if I should cancel because I don’t know if I’m being stupid.”
She ends the video by promising her Uber driver she is willing to wait him out. “Sir, you messed with the wrong chick,” she says.
Shortly after she posted the first video, Jess Renee received a notification that a new Uber was on the way. “That means he canceled,” she says in a triumphant follow-up video.
Viewers React to the Uber Stand-Off
This is obviously not an uncommon experience for Uber passengers. In the comments, viewers who’ve been in similar situations told their stories and offered advice.
“This happened to me one time and he spent almost two hours driving around and I didn’t cancel,” one person wrote. “I just kept calling him and asking him if he was lost. He ended up picking me up and he was not happy about it. And I reported him.”
Several other users backed up that sentiment. “Order a Lyft and leave the Uber up,” one person wrote. “Don’t cancel.”
There could be non-nefarious reasons for this incident. In a Reddit thread posted to r/Uber two years ago, a person offered an explanation. “The driver is probably multi-apping,” they wrote. “They went and did a DoorDash order instead of picking you up. One good thing to know is that you can always cancel an Uber ride up to two minutes without paying any cancellation fee. So if you have a driver that accepts a ride, and just keeps driving the opposite way for several blocks, cancel right away and re-book for a new driver.”
All Hip Hop contacted Jess Renee via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Uber via email for comment.
@organizedhumanllc I’m stuck in a standoff with my Uber driver right now. It’s been over 40 minutes, and they still haven’t picked me up or canceled. I won’t cancel!! Scammers messed with the wrong women! What would you do in this situation?#scam #uber #ubers #standoff #cancel ♬ original sound – Jess Renee