[NJAGDU] I was charged a cleaning fee on a Thanksgiving day ride with my service dog

[Melissa Allman]

Hi all. A Thanksgiving rideshare discrimination experience is something nobody needs and I know I'm stating the obvious here. At the risk of also sounding like a broken record, I want to strongly encourage everybody to continue filing complaints with the Department of Justice whether it's a denial or an illegal cleaning fee. You can do this at:
File a Complaint | ADA.gov<https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/>

You would file with the Civil Rights Division. I have reason to believe they are paying attention. Does this mean the rideshare issues are getting better right now in this moment? No. But they need to keep hearing from us. I also respect that those who have experienced a lot of rideshare denials may get sick of doing the emotional labor of filing complaints on top of the pain and frustration caused by the discrimination. Thanks for persevering and again Rick and others I'm sorry to hear about your recent experiences.

Melissa
[The Seeing Eye logo]
Melissa Allman
Senior Specialist, Advocacy and Government Relations
The Seeing Eye
P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 (mail)
1 Seeing Eye Way, Morristown, NJ 07960-3378 (deliveries)
973-539-4425 ext. x1724 | mallman at seeingeye.org | www.SeeingEye.org<http://www.SeeingEye.org>
________________________________
Your support helps us create extraordinary teams. Please help The Seeing Eye by making a donation today<http://www.seeingeye.org/donate>.




From: NJAGDU <njagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via NJAGDU
Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2023 7:43 AM
To: 'New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users' <njagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: carcione at access.net
Subject: Re: [NJAGDU] I was charged a cleaning fee on a Thanksgiving day ride with my service dog

Hi Rick.
I'm sorry that happened, but I'm glad you got it resolved.
Some time last year, I reported to Uber that I was charged a cencellation fee because a driver didn't want to take my service dog.  I got a robot response too, but unlike you, no human intervened, and, after a few tries, I gave up.  I HATE the robot response.
But more recently I reported the same issue through the Safety section and got right through to a human, so it ws better.
Tracy


From: NJAGDU <njagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:njagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Rick Fox via NJAGDU
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2023 9:00 PM
To: New Jersey Association of Guide Dog Users <njagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:njagdu at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: richardfox1 at comcast.net<mailto:richardfox1 at comcast.net>
Subject: [NJAGDU] I was charged a cleaning fee on a Thanksgiving day ride with my service dog

Hello listers,
Yesterday, my wife Debbie, my Seeing Eye(r) dog, Flash and I traveled from our Bloomfield home to Debbie's niece in Monmouth County via Uber. The driver, Michael, was as courteous and friendly as can be, and made no fuss concerning Flash.
When I examined the Uber receipt a few hours later, I discovered that Michael had reported that I had made a mess, and Uber charged me a cleaning fee. Flash did not make a mess, and he was well groomed.
I reported the incident via the Uber Accessibility section, and described the problem in detail. The response I got from Uber seemed to be generated by a computer, explaining why cleaning fees are necessary, etc. I responded, saying I was shocked and surprise that Uber was going against Federal and State law, not to mention its own policy. I guess a human must have intervened, because Uber's immediate response was that the cleaning fee was being refunded.
I hope all of you had a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

Rick Fox
973-641-5067


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