Currency conversion error leaves US Couple with Rs 24 lakh Uber Bill

In a mind-boggling event, a US couple vacationing in Costa Rica found themselves facing an exorbitant Uber bill of $29,994 (approximately 24 lakh rupees) for a single ride.

The couple, Douglas Ordonez and Dominique Adams, had expected a charge of around $55 (INR 4,500) but were left stunned by the unexpectedly high amount due to a currency conversion error.

Expressing his frustration on Twitter, Douglas Ordonez wrote, "Uber charged me $29,994 USD for an Uber ride in Costa Rica. They did not convert that into the Costa Rican currency $54 USD. Altura Credit Union allowed this charge to process, and Uber is not complying. Now I'm in Guatemala with a negative balance on my five-year anniversary."


To Dominique Adams's surprise, the Altura Credit Union bank cleared the payment despite the fact that it was beyond her debit card's daily spending limit due to a travel notification the couple had previously made for their trip.

Following an investigation into the matter, Uber acknowledged the miscalculation and attributed it to a bank glitch during the currency conversion process. The company promptly rectified the issue by releasing the erroneously imposed authorization hold.

"At Uber, we take every report seriously. Our support team immediately resolved the issue after receiving the user's report and released the authorization hold that had been incorrectly placed as a result of a bank error in dollars rather than colones," Uber said in a statement.

After four days of dialogue between Altura Credit Union and Uber Support, a resolution was finally reached, resulting in an adjustment to the $29,000 (nearly 24 lakh rupees) charge. In a Twitter update, Douglas Ordonez mentioned that Altura Credit Union and Uber Support were blaming each other for the incident.

This unusual incident serves as a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls of currency conversions and highlights the importance of thorough oversight and prompt customer support in resolving such issues.