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AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Customers call in a slew of complaints about the ride-sharing service -- ranging from allegedly being overcharged by hundreds of dollars to having troubles with customer service.

Uber users complain of not being notified of surge pricing before getting a ride. Uber

One sure way businesses will get a low grade from the Better Business Bureau is to rack up customer complaints. And this appears to be the case with Uber.

The Better Business Bureau revealed this week that it's given the ride-sharing service an F rating -- on a scale of A+ to F. The main reason for this failing grade is based on nearly 100 complaints the bureau has received about Uber over the past three years.

The Better Business Bureau is a 100-year-old organization that aims to be an unbiased resource for consumers on various businesses. It isn't affiliated with the government and doesn't have any regulatory powers.

Since launching five years ago, Uber has grown at a swift pace. It's gone from having cars drive around a handful of US cities to being in more than 200 cities in 45 countries. The company now claims to cover 55 percent of the US population with its offering. But with this growth has come scrutiny from regulators, drivers and passengers.

"Consumer complaints allege misunderstanding Uber Technologies' pricing, being misinformed about the overall cost of the services rendered, and not being made aware of 'surge pricing,'" the bureau wrote on its website. "Some consumers claim that they were told the final cost of the transportation service the company provided...only to be subsequently charged a substantially larger amount."

The bureau published the complaints on its website. Of the 90 complaints the bureau has dealt with, 80 were within the last year. By far, most grievances were about billing issues, 43, and problems with the product, 38. Customers also complained of having difficulty contacting Uber's customer service and having their cases closed even though the issue wasn't resolved.

In one case from last week, a customer alleged they were charged $710 for a 9-mile ride and weren't notified of surge pricing, which is a temporary increase in fare rates during rush hour and other high-traffic times. Uber says it repeatedly tells users when surge pricing is in place and customers must confirm they know of the higher fares before they can request a trip. However, the customer claiming to be charged $710 alleges the app didn't mention surge pricing.

"I was not notified of any surcharge and once I learned about it, the customer service refused to refund my money," the complaint reads. "The best they have done is to refund $177, which is still not enough when the policy clearly states that I should be notified of the surcharges. $532.50 is still an outrageous price to pay for a 9.7 mile drive."

Besides the high amount of complaints from consumers, the bureau said other factors that lowered Uber's ratings were the length of time it's been operating and its failure to respond to 30 of the complaints filed against it.

When asked to comment on Uber's F rating, an Uber spokeswoman said the company makes sure to review user feedback.

"Uber's direct channel for two-way feedback is regularly reviewed and acted on to ensure a high-quality experience," the Uber spokeswoman said. "The fact is that consumers in 220 cities around the world have made their opinion known by taking millions of rides with Uber."

Uber's competitor Lyft has also received an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. However, the bureau has received only five complaints about Lyft over the past three years. Yellow Cab in San Francisco also got an F from the bureau, but, like Lyft, had only five complaints in the last three years.

Dara Kerr Dara Kerr is a staff writer for CNET focused on the sharing economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado where she developed an affinity for collecting fool's gold and spirit animals. See full bio

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Ditch Apple's mail app for these helpful, feature-packed alternatives.

Apple's included Mail app for iOS is gets the job done, but it doesn't include many tools to help you manage your email. Whether you're a power user who craves more control over how you organize your email, or you feel overwhelmed by your inbox, there's an app that can help you.

I've rounded up five valuable email apps for your iPhone or iPad that can help change the way you deal with your inbox, or just make the process of reading and responding to messages more productive. All of these apps are available for Android as well, though Acompli is still in beta.

Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

The best feature of the official Gmail app is that it works just the same way that Gmail does on the Web. If you use the tabbed Inbox setup, you can easily use the same setup here, as the app divides your email into Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. All of your custom labels are available in the app as well.

You can sign into multiple Google accounts in the app and get access to your Gmail contacts to send emails. Other features include setting up a vacation responder and customizing your email signature. One of the only downsides of the app is that there's no unified inbox. If you have multiple accounts in the app, it gets tedious switching between them. Google recently updated the app so that it's compatible with the larger screens on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and it works well on the iPad, too.

What's great: The app has the same familiar design and features as Gmail on the Web, making it a great choice for dedicated Gmail users.

What's not: There's no unified inbox, and the swipe-to-archive gesture is finicky.

CloudMagic

Sporting a very light and clean design, CloudMagic has a lot going for it as an email app. First, there's a unified inbox, if you prefer to see all of your email from multiple accounts in one view. CloudMagic also integrates with many different productivity services to help you take action on your emails, whether that's sending them to Evernote, creating a new to-do list item in Todoist, or adding a new lead to your Salesforce account.

You can use gestures to manage your mail, and select multiple conversations at once to be archived or deleted. The app supports Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, iCloud and IMAP accounts.

What's great: The app clears out any clutter from your inbox and displays your email in a clean, simple state.

What's not: You can't mark Gmail messages as spam.

Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Owned by Dropbox, Mailbox has made a name for itself with it's inbox-zero approach. The goal of the app is get all of the email out of your inbox as quickly as possible by categorizing it, instead of letting it languish in your inbox. For each email, you're encouraged to reply if necessary, delete the message, archive it, or set it aside for later.

You can schedule messages to return to your inbox when you're ready to deal with them, in a few hours, days, or a specific date and time. That's helpful for reservations or tickets, so you have the information you need at the appropriate time.

What's great: The minimal design and inbox-zero approach is great for anyone who gets easily overwhelmed with their email.

What's not: You can't easily access folders or labels in your email, and it supports only Gmail and iCloud accounts.

Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Boxer gets a lot of love on the Internet for its feature-packed email app. Like others, it takes a minimalist approach with the design and gives you tools to get your email organized quickly. Boxer also excels at letting you customize its features, including choosing an action for different swiping gestures in the app.

You can turn emails into to-do list items, and even assign to-dos to other people. The app also lets you send out emails and attachments to Evernote. Other features include Quick replies, which sends a prewritten email response, and the ability to "Like" a message, which sends a note to the sender that you like what you read.

With the premium version, you get support for Exchange accounts, you can add multiple email accounts, connect your Dropbox or Box cloud storage account and customize your quick replies.

What's great: Boxer's nearly endless list of features makes it great for email power users.

What's not: The free app doesn't let you add more than one email account, and $10 is a bit steep for the paid app.

Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

One of the more business-focused apps on this list, Acompli helps you organize your email, calendar, and files. You can view your calendar in the app and see all of the attached files in your email, as well as your Google Docs and Dropbox files, in one dashboard. There's also a tool that lets you schedule emails to send whenever you want.

Acompli's inbox also has a unique approach; All of your messages are organized into two categories, Focused and Other. Focused are messages that the app thinks you want to read right now, such as personal messages and important updates. Other encompasses everything else, including newsletters, pesky promotional emails, and anything that Acompli deems less important. While Acompli automatically drops your emails into each category, you can move messages around, and the app gets smarter about what message goes where the more you use it.

What's great: Acompli gives you access to your calendar and files without leaving the app.

What's not: The app's design isn't the prettiest, and it can take some time to find your way around.

Sarah Mitroff Sarah Mitroff is a CNET associate editor who reviews Android software and mobile hardware. In the past, she's also written about consumer tech, startups, and business news for Wired, MacWorld, PCWorld, and VentureBeat. See full bio