The white-collar professional disputed the allegation. "I had no liquids on me and didn't drink en route," she told the Herald. But, more she was incensed that Uber could take money out of her account full stop, let alone do it without waiting to hear her version of events.
A spokeswoman for Uber said the money had been refunded - although as of July 12, that was a point also being disputed by Fiona. A message from Uber said a payment could take several days to go through.
The rideshare company's policy is that it can charge a passenger if one of its contract drivers sends visual evidence of damage. Staff at Uber then review the situation and, if necessary refunded the passenger.
Consumer NZ's Jessica Walker said Uber was within its rights to charge Fiona without hearing her side of the story.
In short, it was what Fiona signed up for. Uber's terms and conditions include a line about it having the power to "facilitate a payment" from your account in the event of damage.
"The terms don't require Uber to give the customer the opportunity to share their side of the story," Walker said.
Fiona can be forgiven for not knowing this.
The provision lies within Uber's terms and conditions for its New Zealand customers - an online document that runs to some 12,700 words - and is separate from the rideshare firm's privacy policy, which runs to a further 7300.
This is what recently-departed Privacy Commissioner John Edwards called the "Click to Consent" problem.
Online T&Cs have ballooned to such length that it's impossible to read them, even if you have the legal chops to understand everything - and we're not just talking about whether you're on the hook for a soiled cushion but how our activities as a customer are tracked, and how data about us is, at times, bought and sold by the various services we sign up for with a click of the T&C box.
Edwards quoted a study by The Atlantic that found that if you made a New Year's resolution to read the terms and conditions of every major website you visit, it would take from January to mid-April.
Believe it or not - and it can be hard, as you scroll and scroll through dense language - but many online terms have actually got shorter, and more accessible. But then there's the second, related development that services now frequently update their terms, what's opt-in or opt-out, and where and how to change your personal settings.
For example, last August I got an email from Uber saying "We've updated our Privacy Notice to give you the latest information on how we collect and use your personal data when you use our apps and websites."
Right. Updated how?
There was no quick, easily digestible summary of the changes. A spokeswoman noted that whenever it changes its policy, Uber makes a copy of its previous policy available for download. But I was not up for a cross-matching exercise involving some 14,000 words.
This is not to pick on Uber. Most tech firms do the same, and many are worse. It's something our lawmakers and regulators need to address.
As things stand, none of us knows what we're consenting to. It's definitely one for our law makers and regulators to address.
That being said, there are Ts and Cs, and then there is just simple good customer service.
Fiona doesn't think Uber was up to snuff on the latter.
"They've apologised for the inconvenience but not for the allegation or for not contacting me first or taking the money in the first place. So all things considered, I'd say their response has been poor," she said.
At one point in a messaging exchange with Uber, she said she wanted to talk to someone by phone. She was told that was not possible - a familiar story for anyone who'd grappled with almost any company behind an app.
"It's the lack of engagement and almost avoidance of contact that's so poor," Fiona said.
"There are times when a company should just pick up the phone."
POSTSCRIPT: Initiating a chargeback
In Fiona's case, Uber agreed to a refund. But what if they had remained at loggerheads?
Walker said if a firm makes charges to your card that you do not accept, and does not refund them, then your next step should be to ask the bank that issued your credit card to initiate a chargeback.
A survey by Consumer found that nearly half of people aren't aware of chargebacks - even though they are often the easiest way of securing a refund.
A chargeback is when you pay for an item using a credit or debit card, then the money paid to a retailer or service provider is reversed out of its account and refunded to yours.
When you apply for a chargeback, your bank will ask the vendor for their side of the story - but with the key provision that the onus is on the retailer or service provider to provide evidence to support its case. And if the vendor doesn't respond, you get automatically refunded under MasterCard and Visa's rules.
See Consumer's guide to charge-backs here.
