Newsmaker: NCB to recoup funds from ‘free Uber rides’ glitch

This week's featured overall development as Newsmaker of the Week just ended is the surprising twist in the case relative to some Jamaican users of the ride-sharing platform Uber, who are facing 'unexpected' liens on their National Commercial Bank (NCB) debit accounts due to chargebacks for past rides.

Reports initially surfaced on social media of customers being billed hundreds of thousands of Jamaican dollars for rides previously thought to have been paid for using their NCB Visa Debit cards.

The issue reportedly stemmed from a technical "glitch", and many customers were visibly upset with NCB for either taking funds from their accounts or placing significant liens on their accounts without prior notice in some cases.

But, in a sharp twist, NCB said their preliminary investigations have showed that many of their customers exploited the glitch, effectively travelling with Uber free of charge for several months.

While some Jamaicans have expressed sympathy with some persons whose monies were deducted without 'warning', leaving some persons basically penniless, others have condemned those who willingly benefitted from the glitch that allowed the ‘free rides’ without reporting the matter to the bank.

In a statement on Wednesday, NCB said it was actively addressing a technical issue affecting Uber transactions made by some of its customers using their Visa Debit cards. 

The issue resulted in certain transactions not being charged to customers’ accounts, leading to unpaid balances and in some cases, potential fraudulent activities or scams, the bank stated.

In response to the illicit activities, NCB said it temporarily froze about 300 accounts for further investigation due to unusually high volumes and types of Uber transactions.

According to NCB, it detected unusual activity patterns, including instances where some customers completed an exceptionally high number of Uber transactions — some exceeding 700 rides within a single month — indicating possible misuse or exploitation of the issue.

"Over 8,000 NCB accounts have been impacted, with investigated transactions dating back to the period of May 2024," NCB said.

As the investigation continues, NCB said it communicated with Visa Debit customers regarding the funds owed, which will be processed for Uber transactions that were made.

Simultaneously, it has processed the owed balances where there are funds in the accounts, or temporarily placed liens on accounts with insufficient funds until the outstanding amounts are recovered. 

Accounts flagged for suspicious activity are being blocked, pending further review. 

“We are working closely with Visa to identify and resolve the underlying cause of this issue,” NCB said, adding that “Our immediate priority is to ensure that all impacted accounts are accurately reconciled."

Following up on the release, NCB's Vice-President for Payments Services and Digital Channels, Danielle Cameron Duncan, did several media interviews, stating that the bank is owed several million dollars by customers who exploited the glitch.

The period under review for the glitch is May to October of this year, with a "full investigation" to be conducted, she said.

Cameron Duncan explained that, for example, some customers reportedly colluded with Uber drivers to apply excessive tips, some as high as $30,000 for a single trip.

"That driver would give you (the passenger) back $25,000 out of that because him know him going get it.

"You get $25,000 in hand, and the bank pays the full $30,000, plus the $800 for your ride; that is how, essentially, some persons were engaging the system," Cameron Duncan told a radio talk show programme last week.

Despite the response from the bank, some social media users had an issue with the approach by the bank in reclaiming their funds, while others found the situation to be comical.

For others, the developments exposed the wider issue of how persons are willing to engage in fraudulent activities.

"Be honest, we all saw those NCB Uber transactions being reversed over and over again, and still decided to continue using and abusing it, lol. Glad I made sure to switch to my Scotia card from early, cause I saw this coming, lol," a man wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"Many of us thought that the money was only returned the more you used the app. Meaning, in our minds, it was an incentive to use the app, rather than an issue with NCB or Uber - whichever entity is at fault," another man wrote.

In response, a man said: "Nothing about a charge reversal says that a ride is free.

"Everyone who is accustomed to Uber services knows that discounts are applied in-app when making a purchase, and typically charge reversals indicates a cancelled ride or refund request," the man opined.

A woman said while she understood that persons abused the system glitch relative to NCB, she said some persons like herself had genuinely not travelled with Uber that much to incur such liens to their accounts.

"You take $27,000 from my account, then impose a lien of over $156,000 NCB? I didn't use Uber that much, and how am I to pay so much money in one go? I will be going to NCB," she said.

Wrote a man jokingly: "NCB said y'all paying back the money, that’s non-negotiable, but we have 300 of y'all on fraud watch too."

On Facebook, a woman claimed that her sister was affected by the withdrawal of money from her account without notice.

"My sister lose $30,000 and counting, and she never use Uber so much! I think some proper investigation needs to be done," the woman posted.

Commented a man comically: "Some of them were ‘Ubering’ from their bedrooms to their bathrooms, because it seemed free at the time when the system was experiencing issues. Now that it’s no longer free, it a problem."

Added another: "Mi nuh sorry fi all who a bawl now! Yuh ride for free, you must expect to pay one day.

"Too much fraud and scamming a gwaan a Jamaica, and see another one here," he suggested.

Said a female Facebook user: "Some money me see people owe for free ride - all over $400,000 and mi see one for over a milli ($1 million), but NCB not in the wrong at all this time because a their money."