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Uber claims to scrupulously look into the backgrounds of its drivers, but in fact does almost nothing to weed out bad eggs, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and her San Francisco counterpart say in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The suit says that Uber makes false and misleading representations to customers — and violates California law — by claiming to use an “industry-leading background check process. San Francisco DA George Gascon says that Uber does not even fingerprint drivers, making any purported criminal checks “completely worthless.” The point is, I guess, is that if you get into a stranger's car sent to you by your Uber app you don't know anything about the guy.
“The company repeats this misleading statement, giving consumers a false sense of security when deciding whether to get into a stranger’s car,” Gascon said. Uber spokeswoman Eva Behrend said the company will meet with the DAs to resolve any concerns. "Californians and California lawmakers all agree -- Uber is an integral, safe, and established part of the transportation ecosystem in the Golden State," she said.
Uber is also under fire from the prosecutors for charging riders $1 for the background checks and a $4 fee for airport service, even though Uber is not authorized to serve airports. The lawsuit follows months of negotiations with Uber and rivals Lyft and Sidecar.
Lacey and Gascon also announced that Lyft has agreed to pay $500,000 in civil penalties and stop picking up passengers at airports until it obtains permits. Lyft also agreed to let a state testing agency measure the accuracy of its app in calculating fares. Uber has refused to let state regulators ascertain that its app is not cheating riders.
