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FTC Sues Uber Over Subscription Practices

Date: April 21, 2025

 

Executive Summary

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against Uber Technologies, Inc. and Uber USA, LLC for engaging in deceptive and unfair practices involving its subscription program, Uber One. The complaint alleges that Uber enrolled consumers in Uber One without their consent, misrepresented cancellation policies, created burdensome cancellation procedures, and charged consumers without clear and informed consent. The FTC asserts that these actions violate the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). The agency is seeking a permanent injunction, monetary relief, and additional court-ordered remedies.

 

Key Allegations

Misrepresentation of Uber One Cancellation Terms 

• Uber marketed Uber One as a subscription that can be cancelled “anytime” without fees, promising savings like “$25 every month” (pg. 5, para. 16–17).
• The FTC found these claims misleading, noting that savings were overstated and cancellation was neither simple nor always possible without incurring additional charges (pg. 6, para. 19–20).

Enrollment Without Consent 

• Consumers were often enrolled through app pop-ups, push notifications, and default checkbox options during checkout without knowingly agreeing to the terms (pg. 7–12, para. 21–34).
• Many consumers reported finding charges on their accounts without ever signing up for Uber One (pg. 12–13, para. 34).
• Some consumers were enrolled through Uber’s partnerships with credit card companies, where Uber One memberships were bundled with credit card benefits but led to automatic charges after a trial period (pg. 12, para. 33).
• Enrollment screens and offers often emphasized discounts and free trials but did not clearly show that the user was signing up for a recurring paid subscription (pg. 8–10, para. 24–28).

Issues With Free Trial Offers 

• Uber advertised trial periods ranging from one week to three months. However, users were billed before the end of the trial, and cancellation during the trial led to immediate loss of benefits (pg. 13–14, para. 35–38).
• This practice encouraged consumers to delay cancellation, increasing the likelihood they would be charged (pg. 14, para. 38).

Difficult and Time-Restricted Cancellation Process 

• The cancellation process required navigating a complex sequence of screens—at least 12 actions across 7 screens, and up to 32 actions through 23 screens if attempted near a billing date (pg. 14–22, para. 39–52).
• Consumers attempting to cancel within 48 hours of their renewal date were unable to complete the process in-app and were instead redirected into confusing loops or required to contact customer support, which was itself hard to access (pg. 22–24, para. 53–56).
• The app displayed multiple offers and prompts to pause or continue the membership instead of ending it, with cancellation buttons intentionally harder to see or placed in less obvious locations (pg. 20–21, para. 48–50).
• Users who tried to cancel within the final 48 hours were often shown repetitive “you could save” messages and forced into circular screens that prevented actual cancellation, unless they exited and contacted support separately (pg. 23–24, para. 54–56).

Inadequate Support and Continued Charges Despite Cancellation 

• Accessing support involved a similarly long series of steps, often requiring 14–32 distinct actions to reach a live chat with customer service (pg. 26–33, para. 61–74).
• During this process, Uber did not clearly disclose that cancellation would not be processed in time or that users would still be charged, especially near billing dates (pg. 33–34, para. 74).
• Consumers had to scroll through several screens just to locate the text input field where they could type a cancellation request, with no clear confirmation that the request was received (pg. 29–30, para. 66–68).
• Even after submitting a cancellation message to customer support, consumers often had to wait hours or days for a response, during which time charges were processed (pg. 33, para. 71).
• Uber employees internally expressed concerns that support could not process cancellations if payments were pending (pg. 25, para. 59).

Unauthorized Charges and Consumer Complaints 

• The complaint documents numerous instances where consumers were charged without consent or continued to be charged after attempting to cancel (pg. 35–39, para. 76–83).
• Some users canceled their payment methods or sought refunds after repeated billing despite their cancellations (pg. 38–39, para. 83).
• Uber sometimes charged other saved payment methods on file—such as cards used for previous ride orders—after the primary card was canceled or declined (pg. 39, para. 83).
• Several consumers reported that after receiving confirmation of cancellation from Uber support, they were still charged again in the following billing cycle (pg. 38, para. 82–83).

Alleged Legal Violations 

• The FTC alleges five counts:
• Count I: Misrepresentation that consumers could cancel anytime without fees (pg. 40, para. 90–92).
• Count II: Charging consumers without express informed consent (pg. 41, para. 93–95).
• Count III: Failure to disclose all material terms of transactions before billing (pg. 42, para. 101–102).
• Count IV: Failure to obtain express informed consent for charges (pg. 42, para. 103–104).
• Count V: Failure to provide simple cancellation mechanisms (pg. 43, para. 105–106).

 

Source: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/uberonecomplaint.pdf