If you are a rideshare driver in Texas, there is a chance that you may be involved in a car accident. Driving for Uber or Lyft may be a great way to make a living or supplement your income, but those added driving hours increase the chances of a crash. This can even occur if you have taken all precautions. One unfortunate outcome is that you may find your account with Uber or Lyft has been deactivated. This could impact your livelihood, making it harder for you to make a living. Still, you and your attorney can appeal this decision, so all hope is not lost. Let’s take a look at why rideshare services deactivate accounts, and what you can do if this happens to you.
Why Do Rideshare Companies Deactivate Driver Profiles?
There are a number of reasons why your Uber or Lyft account may be deactivated. Probably the most common is because the documents you filed with the company have expired. As you may know, rideshare services require a great deal of paperwork in order to get an account. It is incumbent on the driver to keep all of this information and documentation up to date. Things like renewed insurance, driver’s license and registration should be uploaded as soon as you have the new documents. If you fail to do this, you may find your profile deactivated until you upload the updated information. For example, Uber may take over 48 hours to reactivate your account in order to renew the documents.
Another major reason is car accidents. If the vehicle you use for Uber or Lyft is involved in a car accident, your account may be locked until you can either prove the damage was minor or show that the vehicle has been fully repaired. The rideshare company does not want its customers being transported in a vehicle that has suffered damage. In addition, the service is going to want to know if you were at fault in the accident, and if there were any violations of traffic law. Most ones have a zero-tolerance policy and will either deactivate your account temporarily or permanently if you get a ticket. In addition, your involvement in three traffic accidents in three years can also lead to the deactivation of your rideshare driver profile. This dovetails with another major area of concern for rideshare services: safety. This category can include such things as letting an unauthorized driver use your vehicle for service rides, driving under the influence, getting into altercations with passengers, sexually harassing passengers, and driving unsafe or unapproved vehicles. Depending on the severity of the safety issue, you can face a permanent deactivation of your account for these reasons. Other things can also cause a deactivation. If you refuse to transport someone for a discriminatory reason such as race, religion, or gender identity, you can lose your privileges of driving for a rideshare service. Similarly, if you cancel too many rides, this can lead to deactivation. Uber and Lyft also deactivate profiles for getting too many bad reviews. As you can see, you may be deactivated even if you don’t get into accidents and have a clean driving record.
What Can You Do if Your Rideshare Account Is Deactivated?
If you go to log onto your Uber or Lyft account and find your profile is not active, do not panic, Your rideshare attorney can assist you with the process of appealing the deactivation. The first thing to do is check all of your notifications from the rideshare service. In most cases, the company will let you know ahead of time if your account is at risk of deactivation. The only exceptions are for things like safety and fraud, such as getting into a major auto accident. If you
haven’t received a prior notice, call support at the relevant service. They should be able to let you know why you were deactivated or if an investigation is ongoing.
While this is going on, you should gather all of your information. This may include copies of all reviews and ratings from passengers, webcam footage if you have one installed, all communication with the service and the passengers your handled, and any accident reports if you were involved in one. Once you have this in hand, you should work with your attorney to go through the appeals process with the rideshare service. However, do not try to circumvent the process by trying to create a new rideshare driver profile. This will only lead to the denial of your appeal and a permanent ban.
If You Are a Rideshare Driver Whose Account Was Deactivated Following a Traffic Accident, Call Our Firm Today
Many drivers like you rely on their rideshare job to make a living. The experienced attorneys at Hernandez Sunosky LLP can help you if your account is deactivated for any reason. Call us today so we can help you protect your rights to rideshare.