Uber Sued by the US FTC Over Allegedly Deceptive Practices in Subscription Service
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies, accusing the company of using deceptive billing practices and making it difficult for users to cancel its Uber One subscription service. The FTC’s lawsuit highlights allegations of unauthorized charges and misleading claims about the savings users could expect from the program.
- Uber One, launched in 2021, offers customers perks like free delivery and discounts on rides for a subscription fee of $9.99 per month.
- The company advertises that users save about $25 per month with the service.
- However, the FTC alleges that Uber signed up customers for this subscription without their consent, a practice the agency claims is deceptive.
Unauthorized Enrollment and Difficult Cancellation
One of the central issues in the FTC’s lawsuit is the unauthorized enrollment of customers in the Uber One subscription.
- The FTC’s complaint includes instances where customers were charged for Uber One, even though they did not have an Uber account.
- Customers who tried to cancel their subscriptions allegedly faced an unreasonable number of steps—sometimes up to 23 screens and 32 actions—making it extremely difficult to opt out.
In response, Uber has denied these claims, stating that cancellations can now be done easily within the app and generally take 20 seconds or less.
- Uber also clarified that earlier, customers had to contact customer support to cancel if they were within 48 hours of their renewal period.
- However, the company has since updated its policy, allowing users to cancel Uber One directly from the app, improving the cancellation process.
The FTC’s lawsuit underscores the broader issues of consumer protection in the digital subscription economy, as customers face challenges in both signing up for and unsubscribing from services.
