The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the company of deceptive practices related to its optional subscription service.
The big picture: Uber allegedly charged users for its subscription service without permission and made it difficult for customers to cancel the service, as claimed in the legal complaint filed in federal court in California.
- The FTC alleges that Uber engaged in deceptive billing and cancellation practices and failed to deliver the promised savings to customers who signed up for the Uber One subscription.
- Customers were reportedly misled about potential savings of $25 a month when subscribing to Uber One, as Uber did not factor in the $9.99 monthly subscription fee when promising savings, and used small, grayed-out text to obscure important information about the subscriptions.
Go deeper: The 44-page complaint included anecdotes from consumers who found it confusing to cancel their subscriptions and had to navigate up to 23 screens within the Uber app in their attempts to cancel.
- Some customers were allegedly charged before their billing date, with complaints from users saying that they were automatically charged for the service before the end of the free trial period offered by Uber.
- The complaint was filed with a vote of 2-0-1, with one commissioner recusing himself and the commission’s two Democratic commissioners having been dismissed by President Trump the previous month.
