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So many parties want a piece of hot-button sedan service Uber—-Councilmember Jim Graham, the D.C. Taxi Cab Commission, incoming rival Hailo. Now, add one more person to that list: an unhappy Uber customer in Chicago.
Illinois lawyer Hall Adams III emails that he has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Uber customer that accuses the company of false advertising. According to Adams’ lawsuit, a portion of Uber’s automatic 20 percent “gratuity” on its taxi dispatch service goes to Uber instead of to its drivers, meaning Uber is charging more than Chicago’s meters would allow.
In a press release, Adams mentions Uber’s Washington problems. “In Washington D.C., the City Council is currently questioning Uber’s unregulated status and business practices in a series of public hearings,” Adams writes.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick denies the thrust of the lawsuit, saying that all of the 20 percent gratuity goes to drivers. “We’re not doing anything wrong,” Kalanick says. “We’re doing the right thing.”
Because Uber doesn’t operate a taxi-dispatch service in D.C., a similar lawsuit would be impossible in here. But just wait: Kalanick says the company is considering launching such a service in Washington, too.
Sedan picture via Shutterstock
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