The incredibly simple way to find your 'secret' Uber passenger rating

If you've ever used the ride-sharing service Uber, then you have an Uber passenger rating.

In the same way that passengers rate drivers from one to five stars (one star meaning poor service and five stars meaning you were very satisfied with the ride), every Uber customer gets assigned a score.

If your passenger rating drops too low, you may find it difficult to get lifts - or even be booted off the service entirely.

Passengers can't actually see their own ratings on the app, which makes them a source of constant fascination. When a glitch in the system last July enabled people to find their scores, the internet went into meltdown. It was fixed hours later.

But there's another way for passenger's to hunt down their scores that most people don't know about. Are you ready?

The secret is dead simple: All you have to do is email Uber support and they will tell you what your passenger rating is. The response is immediate - only a few hours in our own experience.

The link for Uber Support in the US is here, and for the UK it's here. For other countries, it should be easy to find on Uber's website, Uber.com. You can also email support@Uber.com.

Just send them a message that includes the email address and phone number registered to your account in the body of the message.

Here's the response one of my colleagues received after asking for their rating:

Here's another response we got:

In the UK, Uber is actually required to provide this information by law. Under the Data Protection Act, companies have to provide all the information they have on you when requested. Uber's passenger ratings are no exception. There's no such nationwide law in the United States, but Uber will provide you with your rating upon request anyway.

Uber explains the rationale behind customer ratings in a blog post on their site, describing the relationship between driver and passenger as a "two-way street."

"An Uber trip should be a good experience for drivers too - drivers shouldn't have to deal with aggressive, violent, or disrespectful riders," the company says. "If a rider exhibits disrespectful, threatening, or unsafe behaviour, they, too, may no longer be able to use the service."

Uber also provides several tips on getting a "stellar rider rating." These include:

• Pin it to win it - make sure your location is accurately "pinned" to the map so the driver can find you easily.
• Please don't pile in - respect the number of seat belts in the vehicle and don't try and overcrowd it.
• Follow the (Uber) golden rule - "treat your driver (and their car) with care." That means no food, no booze, no smoking.
• Time is money - be ready to go as soon as the driver arrives.