Uber and Birmingham Airport

rmgaudencio

For now I am disputing it over email.

Next Monday I am flying from Birmingham to Munich and I will do exactly the same to see if I am charged again. I will also ask my driver to understand what has changed.

rmgaudencio

Update:

Last Monday I was dropped off at Birmingham International Train Station. No extra charged was applied.
Yesterday, I was picked up from the exact same location and a £4 charge (BHX Airport Parking Charge) was applied!

Long story short, uber drivers have to wait at car park 7, where they pay £4 for 3 hours parking, to get pickup requests from BHX Airport or Birmingham International Station. If they are not physically there they don't get any request.

For this reason they are now charging this extra fee to uber riders, which in my opinion does not make any sense. Here is my message:

Dear Sirs,

For the second time after many collections and pickups from BHX Airport and Birmingham International Train Station I was charged a £4 fee (BHX Airport Parking Charge) after being picked up from Birmingham International Train Station yesterday on the 26/09/2018.

After discussing this with some uber drivers I was told drivers have to wait at Park Park 7 (next to Holiday Inn Hotel) to get pickup requests from BHX and Birmingham International Station.

I can understand private hire drivers have to wait in specific locations for different reasons but I can't accept the fact that it is the customer (uber rider) who is paying for consequent costs!
I accept car parking fees if my pickup is from a car park, or airport fees if a driver pickup fee applies at the airport. None of these apply in my case!
I was picked up from a location where the driver didn't have to pay any fees to PICK ME UP. It is not my fault the driver has to wait in a location where a parking fee applies.

It doesn't also make any sense that I don't have to pay anything extra to be dropped off at Birmingham International but I have to pay £4 extra to be picked up. Same distance, same route, £4 difference in price.

I would like to suggest a new policy with regards to this subject and a £8 refund in my account (2 journeys @£4 each).

Also for your information, I had my pickup request cancelled maybe 3/4 times yesterday because I was requesting only a £10 trip which is not considered to be profitable for drivers.

Best regards,

Exile_geordie

Its the airport which is charging them to wait there so why do you think they shouldn't pass this charge on to you?

forgotmyname

Exile_geordie wrote: »

Its the airport which is charging them to wait there so why do you think they shouldn't pass this charge on to you?

If you book a taxi and they charge you £60 because they were at the airport and it was a fair distance to your house to pick you up, would you be happy? You would expect to pay for your journey not charged extra because they had to cover xx miles to get to your or had to pay a toll or parking charge.

Do they have to wait there? Free parking only a short distance away.

Should you pay charges that occurred before your journey started?

CKhalvashi

Exile_geordie wrote: »

Its the airport which is charging them to wait there so why do you think they shouldn't pass this charge on to you?

Because any decent company would have a pre-booking system, especially for airport work, and wouldn’t have drivers waiting around.

This is part of the inefficiency of a company like Uber, although I can see the benefit to their system in city centres.

Johno100

rmgaudencio wrote: »

Update:

Last Monday I was dropped off at Birmingham International Train Station. No extra charged was applied.
Yesterday, I was picked up from the exact same location and a £4 charge (BHX Airport Parking Charge) was applied!

Long story short, uber drivers have to wait at car park 7, where they pay £4 for 3 hours parking, to get pickup requests from BHX Airport or Birmingham International Station. If they are not physically there they don't get any request.

For this reason they are now charging this extra fee to uber riders, which in my opinion does not make any sense. Here is my message:

Dear Sirs,

For the second time after many collections and pickups from BHX Airport and Birmingham International Train Station I was charged a £4 fee (BHX Airport Parking Charge) after being picked up from Birmingham International Train Station yesterday on the 26/09/2018.

After discussing this with some uber drivers I was told drivers have to wait at Park Park 7 (next to Holiday Inn Hotel) to get pickup requests from BHX and Birmingham International Station.

I can understand private hire drivers have to wait in specific locations for different reasons but I can't accept the fact that it is the customer (uber rider) who is paying for consequent costs!
I accept car parking fees if my pickup is from a car park, or airport fees if a driver pickup fee applies at the airport. None of these apply in my case!
I was picked up from a location where the driver didn't have to pay any fees to PICK ME UP. It is not my fault the driver has to wait in a location where a parking fee applies.

It doesn't also make any sense that I don't have to pay anything extra to be dropped off at Birmingham International but I have to pay £4 extra to be picked up. Same distance, same route, £4 difference in price.

I would like to suggest a new policy with regards to this subject and a £8 refund in my account (2 journeys @£4 each).

Also for your information, I had my pickup request cancelled maybe 3/4 times yesterday because I was requesting only a £10 trip which is not considered to be profitable for drivers.

Best regards,

I assume this letter was to Uber, have you complained to the airport?

jaybeetoo

There is a drop off car park by car park 5 which is free for 30 minutes.

Beebe

I too got stung with this yesterday. I have been arguing with Uber via email throughout the day and they are not backing down.

Let us help clarify. Drivers are advised to use the Car Park 7 while waiting for jobs in or around the airport. The parking fee here is £4.00, so if your pick up location is within the geofence for the airport, this fee will be automatically added to your fare.

I replied saying that was unfair and that the driver did not even come from Car Park 7 and they simply said

While we understand you saying your driver never entered the car park, please note that this surcharge would have been added your fare due to the fact your trip lies within the airport geofence.

So basically not only do you have to pay the £4 car parking for the driver before your trip, you even have to pay it if they do not!

Georgiexxx

I got an Uber from Birmingham International to a local business park for an interview. I thought the £9 fare was steep but assumed the location was further than I anticipated. Coming back, £4.50. It turns out I was charged a £4 airport parking charge! I’ve taken local cabs from international before and I’ve never been charged for their parking. More irritatingly the Uber picked me up from outside the bus stop. He incurred no charges. I’ve contacted Uber four times and they insist an airport parking fee applies. Never using them again.

feet_up

I think that's the answer. Vote with your feet. I've done the same this year. They have lost out.