A woman says Uber has ruined Christmas after she was charged more than £500 for a ride home.

Ashleigh Cooper had been out in London celebrating her work's Christmas party when she ordered an Uber to take her back to her home in Gillingham.

As it was the early hours of the morning, she decided to get an Uber for her journey from St James' Park.

The accounts manager was quoted around £200 for the journey which should have been 40 miles long.

But she says her driver ended up taking her on a 89 mile journey, arriving in Medway via the M25.

Ashleigh, who was travelling alone, said she realised she had been in the car for longer than she anticipated.

At one point, she says she fell asleep during the drive and woke up to find herself alone parked in a petrol station.

When she eventually arrived home she received her receipt of the journey which showed her the route the driver had taken her and a bill of £529.77.

Horrified, she got in touch with Uber's customer services to request a refund for the journey on Friday, December 13.

The 27-year-old said: "I knew it would be past an hour, it was really dark and I don't drive in London, I don't know the area so it was only by length of time.

"I wouldn't have accepted that journey if it came up on the quote.

"The first thing I did the next morning was take it up with Uber and I finally got call back four days later."

Whilst Ashleigh says Uber accepted their driver took her on the wrong length journey, they said they were unable to offer a refund for the journey - which she paid for by card - and instead offered her £275 in Uber credit.

They also said she would need to take it up with Transport for London (TfL).

Ashleigh added, "Uber have blamed TfL but since I have put this on Twitter, I have had so many people come back and say that's a load of rubbish.

"After all the bad customer service, I want compensation.

"I don't understand; I paid by card, I have never had Uber credit, I wanted to get paid back the way I paid."

Ashleigh has also criticised the cab-hailing app for not looking after females travelling solo on their service.

She added, "Me and my friends have taken Ubers from London home before and it was over £100.

"I don't use Uber that often, I would have got the train normally. I don't want to use them again."

Ashleigh has been trying to get a response from TfL since she was instructed to take her query up with them.

The Uber app records every trip and sends riders a receipt with a map of the route taken.

The app also includes a feature which allows users to record feedback on the route taken once the journey has been completed.

Last month, Uber was stripped of its licence to operate in London, an agreement which allowed it to operate in Medway, Gravesend, Dartford and Canterbury.

The firm launched an appeal and as such, its users are still able to use the app to hail cars during the appeal period.

KentOnline has approached Uber and TfL for comment.

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