Feds accuse Uber of charging customers for subscriptions without consent

Summary

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit Monday against Uber, alleging the ride-hail and delivery giant charged customers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent. The lawsuit also claims Uber failed to deliver the savings promised in its subscription service and made it unreasonably difficult for users to cancel despite its “cancel anytime” promises. Uber has denied any wrongdoing and accused the FTC of rushing the investigation process and basing its claims on “unvetted allegations.” The lawsuit comes after the FTC has pushed companies with subscription services to make them easier to cancel under its previous director, Lina Khan. In October 2024, the agency finalized its “click to cancel” rule that requires companies to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up for one. Despite facing some challenges by industry groups, the rule is expected to go into effect May 14. “Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement. “The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people.” The FTC’s complaint, which follows an investigation that began last year, alleges that Uber customers are wrongly promised savings of $25 a month. “Even if that were true, Uber does not account for the cost of the subscription (up to $9.99/month) when calculating those savings,” reads a statement from the FTC. “The company also obscures material information about the subscription (for example, by using small, greyed out text which consumers can easily miss).” The complaint accuses Uber of automatically charging consumers who signed up for a free trial before their billing date. It also alleges that Uber makes it “extremely difficult” for customers to cancel, wherein users can be forced to navigate “as many as 23 screens and take as many as 32 actions to cancel.” Those actions come in the form of explaining why they want to cancel, dealing with Uber...