Uber accused of signing up and charging subscription customers without consent

Uber is being accused of using a “deceptive billing and cancellation process” for its Uber One subscription service, according to a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission Monday.

The ridehailing company would enroll people in its subscription service and then charge them without consent, making it more difficult to eventually cancel the service, the agency alleges in its lawsuit. The FTC is asking the court to file a permanent injunction blocking Uber from continuing to enroll people in its subscription program, as well as unspecified monetary relief for victims of the alleged policy.

“Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. “The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people. Today, we’re alleging that Uber not only deceived consumers about their subscriptions, but also made it unreasonably difficult for customers to cancel.”

According to the FTC, Uber used difficult-to-read text and deceptive savings promises to lure people into its subscription service. When signing up for Uber, customers are “wrongly promised” savings of $25 a month, which doesn’t account for the $9.99 a month for the cost of the subscription. The company also “obscures material information about the subscription,” including “using small, greyed out text which consumers can easily miss.” Many customers told the FTC they were enrolled without consent, with one customer saying they were charged despite not even having an Uber account.

After sign-up, Uber allegedly would charge customers before their billing date, and occasionally before the free trial period ended. And when customers would try to cancel, Uber made it “extremely difficult,” the FTC says.

“Some users are told they have to contact customer support to cancel but are given no way to contact them,” the agency says, “others claim that Uber charged them for another billing cycle after they requested cancellation and were waiting to hear back from customer support.”

Uber contends that the allegations are erroneous, and that customers are able to cancel subscriptions with little friction. The company also denies signing up and charging customers without their consent.

“We are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action, but are confident that the courts will agree with what we already know: Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law,” Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said in a statement. “Uber does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent, and cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less.”

The company also provided statements from former FTC officials echoing similar sentiments. “I am disappointed that the FTC chose to bring this case without a full investigation and to base its complaint on misunderstandings of both the facts and the law,” said Tim Muris, former FTC Chair, Director of Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Director of Bureau of Competition; now senior counsel at Sidley, who represented Uber during this case’s investigation period.