It’s not news that someone did something inappropriate in a hired car: that, unfortunately, has been happening for as long as taxis have existed. No, but one woman in Chicago disputed Uber’s claim that her dog relieved himself on the floor of an UberX vehicle and that she owed $200.

UberX, as you may or may not recall, is the company’s lower-cost service that depends on ordinary drivers with standard non-commercial licenses and newer passenger cars.

If you don’t really care whether it’s a Prius or a limo taking you and your dog to the airport, it’s a good money-saving option. Unless the driver reports your dog to Uber for making a mess, and you’re charged a $200 cleanup fee.

That’s what happened to one woman during her trip to the airport. Maybe 10 hours after her uneventful trip to the airport, she learned that Uber had imposed that charge because of a mess her dog made on the floor. The thing is, her dog had stayed in his travel carrier the whole time, and there was no urine in his carrier.

She couldn’t prove it, though, which would make this a perfect scam if not for one thing…the photos that the driver sent of the mess. (You can click here to view them, if you want to.) The problem was that the passenger remembered the car as a black car with a black leather interior, and that’s what the photo on the right shows. The photo on the left shows a gray seat, though. The dog only rode in one car.

The good news is that Uber has given her a refund…but only after she took her case to a local TV station, which in turn took her case to Uber. The company issued a refund because, they explained, their “protocol wasn’t followed” in this case.

It might seem excessive to take a photo when you get out of a vehicle, but apparently it might be helpful if you’re traveling with a pet.

Did Doggie Do? Or Did Uber Try To Pull A Fast One? [CBS Chicago]

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