Uber May End Up Paying $28.5 Million to 25 Million Riders

Make it rain.

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For all intents and purposes, the popular ride-sharing service Uber is pretty safe. Okay, there was that one time a drunk doctor attacked a driver and driver in Toronto driver told his passenger to "suck my d**k" before going after her. And let’s not forget about driver who told a rider be would rape and kill her or the guy who had to pepper spray an inebriated passenger who attacked him.  Well, Uber might not be that safe after all which explains why the company was slapped with a pair of lawsuits over its safe ride guarantee.

According to Mashable, the plaintiffs behind Philliben v. Uber Technologies, Inc. and Mena v. Uber Technologies, Inc. are looking for restitution after arguing that the $1 "Safe Ride Fee" is false advertising. They went on to say that the company’s claims of "industry leading" background checks are false, as records show that drivers with felony convictions were able to work for the service. Uber seems to agree and have announced a $28.5 million class action settlement in response.

"No means of transportation can ever be 100 percent safe," Uber said in a released statement. "Accidents and incidents do happen. That’s why it’s important to ensure that the language we use to describe safety at Uber is clear and precise."

If the settlement goes through, 25 million users would be reimbursed and that equates to just over $1 per person. Those eligible are riders who paid the fee in the U.S. between Jan. 1, 2013 and Jan. 31, 2016. Uber has also agreed to rename its "Safe Ride Fee" to "Booking Fee." So you’re still paying that extra dollar no matter what.

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