A drunk passenger was charged £102 ($146.75) for a £15 Uber trip when he fell asleep in the cab and the driver took him on a 20 mile detour. Daniel Kaizen requested an Uber ride from Old Street to Wood Green in north London – a five mile journey that ordinarily costs about £15.

Kaizen, 26, had ordered the cab early over the bank holiday and said he slept through most of the ride. The driver chose not to take him through the usual north London route and instead took him out to Barking and around the North Circular. Kaizen says when he woke up the next day to rate the driver, he was taken aback by the costly and indirect trip.

"I nearly spat out my tea laughing at the route," said Kaizen. Following the incident, Kaizen sent a tweet to Uber and said: "Great start to my Easter Monday."

Uber has offered an apology to Kaizen and will be arranging a refund within five days. "We are investigating exactly what happened in this instance and have given the rider a full refund. Unlike other transport options Uber offers transparent receipts with a record of every trip and a map of the route taken so if there is an issue it can be resolved," an Uber spokeswoman said.

Earlier this month an Uber driver was accused of planting fake vomit in his taxi in an attempt to charge a customer $200 (£140) as a clean-up fee. Meredith Mandel was informed that someone in her party of three had "made a mess on the trip" and the driver even supplied photos with yellow vomit splattered over his dashboard.

Mandel fought the charge and proved that nobody from her party was in fact drunk in the cab that night. "I was infuriated, because I realised that it actually is a scam," said Mandel. Uber offered her a refund following an investigation into the incident.

More from IBTimes UK
Uber London