Surprise charges and overpayments are some of the most frustrating problems for Lyft users.
Look at the comments section of our article on how to contact Lyft customer service to see dozens of complaints about duplicate charges, overcharges, or rides that never occurred.
The good news is that you can report overcharges and request a refund from Lyft, but you have to know where to go in the Lyft app or at help.lyft.com.
What you need to know
- Use the Help section at the bottom of every ride receipt to report payment problems
- Pending charges labelled ‘temporary authorization holds’ typically disappear once the transaction is processed
- Other common surprise charges are fees, Lyft Pink charges, or a price that was higher than the upfront estimate
- Report suspected fraud to your cardholder first
How to get help with payment problems in the Lyft app
Follow the steps below if you have an issue with an overcharge, duplicate charge, fraudulent ride, or other payment issues.
In the Lyft app, Tap Menu (☰) > Ride history > Find the ride and tap on it > Scroll to ‘Help’ > Select the best matching item
You can dispute the fare or report another issue about the charge. After you report the issue, a chat with Lyft customer service will begin.
The Help button beneath each ride receipt is the best place to dispute charges
Helpful pages at help.lyft.com
Lyft explains payment policies on these pages at help.lyft.com.
- Lyft’s guide to charges and payments
- Payment authorizations (temporary holds)
- Cancellation policy for passengers
You can contact Lyft with each of the pages above. Scroll to the contact button at the bottom of each page and follow the on-page steps to report an issue with a charge.
- Our complete guide: How to Contact Lyft Customer Service
Legitimate charges from Lyft that might look unusual
Many legitimate charges from Lyft might be unexpected or even appear suspicious at first glance.
Before contacting Lyft, check to see if the charge could be explained by one of the reasons below.
Temporary holds: Payment authorization
A duplicate charge from Lyft could be a temporary payment authorization.
Lyft places a temporary hold on your payment method to confirm that it has enough funds to pay for your ride.
The temporary authorization will disappear after your payment provider processes the transaction, or it may appear as a refund after 5-7 days.
Temporary payments appear as ‘Lyft TEMP AUTH HOLD’ on your payment account transactions.
Temp auth hold charges typically settle within a day
You might see a pending charge when you create an account, request a ride, update your payment method, change your destination or add a stop.
One charge from Lyft after taking many rides
By default, you will only be charged once for all the Lyft rides you take in one day. So if you took many rides during a day, one big charge means all the rides were lumped together into one payment.
To change your payment frequency, go to Menu > Payment > Payment frequency. You can choose to pay after every ride or once for all the rides you do in a day.
Price higher than the upfront estimate
Lyft offers upfront pricing, but the price may increase if you encounter unexpected heavy traffic or add a stop.
If you still think Lyft charged too much, use the Help section of the ride receipt and select Dispute ride fare or charges.
Lyft fees
Lyft charges cancellation fees and damage fees. Cancellation fees are typically $2–$10, and damage fees are $20, $30, $80, or $150.
Go to the trip receipt and scroll to the help section to dispute a fee. Read more about the Lyft cancellation fees.
Lyft Pink: A $9.99 monthly charge
Lyft Pink is a monthly membership that costs $9.99 per month. An unexpected charge of $9.99 could be a Lyft Pink subscription you forgot about. More about Lyft Pink here.
Lyft Cash
Lyft Cash is another recurring payment that could lead to surprise charges.
In the Payment area of the app, there’s an option to add Lyft Cash to your Lyft account and a separate option to turn on auto-refill. Auto-refill could explain an unexpected charge.
Check to see if auto refill can explain a mystery charge
Family or friend took a ride on your card
Many people share account logins and credit cards. If there’s a surprise charge on your card, think if someone else who shares your card might have taken the ride.
Illegitimate charges: Fraud on your Lyft account
Although many surprise charges are a misunderstanding about Lyft payment practices, fraud does happen.
These activities on your Lyft account could indicate fraud
- Receipts for a trip you didn’t take
- Charges for trips you didn’t take
- Notifications from Lyft about a ride that you aren’t on
- Your account info was updated without your knowledge
Suspect fraud? Contact your cardholder or bank
If you believe someone is fraudulently using your credit or debit card to use Lyft, contact your cardholder first to report the fraud.
It’s important to secure the account first to prevent further fraud.
Most credit and debit cards offer fraud protection and 24/7 customer service. It’s much easier to quickly notify your cardholder than to report issues to Lyft.
After contacting your bank or cardholder, you can report the issue to Lyft in the ride receipt or at help.lyft.com.
Will Lyft give you a refund? What to expect
Illegitimate charges or fraud are likely to be refunded if you promptly report the issue to Lyft and follow up with details.
However, Lyft is less likey to offer a refund for legitimate charges from fees and recurring memberships.
The best way to start the process is to use the Help tools in the ride receipt or the contact buttons at the bottom of the support pages at help.lyft.com.
Still not getting a refund after contacting Lyft? You can initiate a chargeback with your credit card company.
A chargeback is nearly guaranteed to get your money back, but you should only use it if it was genuinely an illegitimate charge and Lyft refuses to take action.
Related Lyft Topics
Anthony says
I can’t believe this is happening to so many people. I recently got charged $186 for a ride to my house and supposedly an extra stop after my place to NJ (I live in NY). I have tried contacting Lyft and my bank and I WILL NOT let them get away with this.
Sean says
I ordered a lyft ride. A driver accepted and I was charged 36.11. He never showed up. I had to get where I was going I ordered another lyft and another driver showed up. So I paid for 2 rides to go to one place
Doug H says
Go to the ride receipt and find Get Help. Report the extra charge there, you’ll get the money back
Kashif Hopkins says
I am charged 23.99 every single day only in the morning for a 9 min ride. There was times a 9 min ride was like 5.99. And I always tip my Lyft driver
Gerardo says
My daughter was charged $14.00 for the raid plus $5.00 for tip, the total was $19.00, and suddenly she was charged again with $14.00, couple days they gave back the $14.00, days later they took away the $14.00 again, what the hell is going on, sounds like take money and run, because they have your card, 🤨
N. L says
I was charged $116, for ride listed $33. There was no traffic nor added stop, it was a 24 minutes ride with Lyft standard car.
Seems to be more of scam
ronald hills says
I was charged $22.77 and I didn’t even book a ride
Brandy Tindall says
I was charged $55.71 and they never showed up and now I can’t get my money back
Mike says
I got charged a $63.16 “temp hold” THREE DAYS AFTER the charge went through on my card… a “hold” is supposed to come before the “charge” and definitely not 3 days AFTER payment had been confirmed. So I’ve basically been charged 63.16 twice now. I would understand if the hold came before the confirmation of payment but three days after confirmation and receipt and all that there’s a hold equal to the cost of the ride…? Doesn’t make sense at all. And contacting Lyft is IMPOSSIBLE.
Jayson says
I got the same problems every single day. I’m about to switch to UBER because having to wait 2 extra days for my money to “be refunded” back to me doesn’t help the damn fact that i need my money NOW for a ride to and from work TONIGHT. Lyft is a scam for always double charging “just to make sure you have the funds” while not allowing us to even have the funds for future rides due to their insane policies of “temporary holds” in the first place!! I’m done once i get my money back and deleting Lyft for UBER. It might cost a little bit more for a ride, but at least i won’t get double charged 3 days later for rides that were already fully paid for.