Uber’s subscription service is deceptive and too hard to cancel, the US Federal Trade Commission alleged in a lawsuit on Monday.
The FTC’s suit takes aim at Uber One, a subscription service that offers members money back on Uber rides and discounts on food deliveries, among other things. Uber has touted the subscription, which costs $9.99 a month or $96 a year, as a way to get customers to make return purchases on its app.
In pitching Uber One to consumers, Uber overpromises how much users could save, the FTC said in its complaint. Uber also signed some users up for the subscription without their knowledge, and makes it tricky to cancel, the FTC said.
“Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said.
An Uber spokesperson said that the company is “disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action,” adding that Uber believes it will prevail in an anticipated court battle with the FTC.
“Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law,” the spokesperson said, adding: “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 FTC’s lawsuit says that Uber promises users $25 a month in savings if they use Uber One. That figure doesn’t include what users have to pay for the subscription, the FTC said.
The lawsuit also cites users who “say they were enrolled without consent,” the FTC said.
One user cited in the FTC’s complaint said that they clicked “exit, reject, deny” every time Uber asked if they wanted to sign up for Uber One when they created their Uber account. Later, when they checked their bank account activity, they realized that Uber had actually signed them up for the subscription service, according to the complaint.
Uber charged a different person $9.99 a month for Uber One, though that person never had an Uber account, according to the FTC’s complaint.
“I don’t even know how they got my debit card info,” the unnamed person said.
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