On February 27, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) announced that there are currently thousands of Chinese Uber drivers who have not yet applied to receive the wages that were overcharged by the ride-hailing companies. The union wants to inform the drivers that any Chinese driver who worked for Uber or Lyft between 2014 and 2017 is eligible to contact the union to claim back the overcharged wages, which could amount to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in compensation.
NYTWA Chairwoman, Bhairavi Desai, told the media that they have discovered that several thousand Chinese drivers have not applied to receive the wages that Uber/Lyft overcharged them over the past few years.
“As you all know, Uber and Lyft have been stealing drivers’ money for years, so our union filed a complaint with the state Attorney General and they conducted an investigation, reaching a settlement agreement of $328 million at the end of 2023,” Desai explained. “Currently, over 70% of drivers have already reclaimed their money, but there are still 30,000 drivers who have not applied to receive their winnings, including several thousand Chinese drivers with surnames like Wong and Yaode…”
Desai mentioned that they have tried contacting these drivers by phone, but many of them immediately hang up thinking it might be a scam call, so they need to reach out to them somehow.
Last month, this union message was reported in our paper, stating that drivers who worked for Uber between November 10, 2014, and May 31, 2017, as well as for Lyft between November 2015 and July 2017, are eligible to apply for a refund; the deadline was January 31.
It is understood that many Chinese drivers have already applied for refunds and received them, such as one driver with the surname Yang who received over $10,000.
The background of this issue is that between 2014 and 2017, Uber deducted sales tax and the so-called Black Car Fund fee from drivers’ earnings, even though these taxes and fees were already covered by passengers.
Uber misled drivers in its service terms regarding these deductions and informed drivers that Uber would only deduct commissions from ride fares, stating that drivers “are entitled to collect any tolls, taxes, or fees incurred from passengers.” However, the driver app never provided any actual means for this.
Lyft also adopted a similar practice between 2015 and 2017, deducting an 11.4% “service fee” from driver earnings, equivalent to the sales tax and Black Car Fund fee that passengers should have paid.
In other words, both ride-hailing companies were found to be double-charging, and the excess amount should be returned to the drivers.
In 2015, the NYTWA union filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office, demanding that the two companies reimburse drivers for the overcharged fees. In November 2023, the Attorney General’s office reached a $328 million settlement agreement with Uber and Lyft.
Ultimately, in this historic settlement, over 100,000 New York drivers were eligible to receive the settlement funds and accompanying benefits. As of December 18 last year, there have been over 88,000 claims filed.
The union hopes that Chinese drivers who have not yet applied for a refund can directly email the union at info@UberNYAGSettlement.com or visit the New York Taxi Workers Alliance at 31-10 37th Ave, Suite 300 (3rd Floor), Long Island City, NY 11101, phone: 718-706-9892.
If there are any issues with submitting a claim, drivers can also contact the intermediary company handling refunds, Rust Consulting, at 1-800-625-2332 (Uber) or 1-800-433-5314 (Lyft).