FTC taking action against Uber for ‘deceptive’ billing, cancellation practices

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Uber (UBER), alleging the rideshare and delivery company charged consumers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent, failed to deliver promised savings, and made it difficult for users to cancel the service despite its “cancel anytime” promises. “Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people. Today, we’re alleging that Uber not only deceived consumers about their subscriptions, but also made it unreasonably difficult for customers to cancel.” In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Uber used deceptive billing and cancellation practices. For example, the complaint alleges: When signing up for Uber One, customers are wrongly promised savings of $25 a month. After sign-up, Uber charges consumers before their billing date. When customers try to cancel, Uber makes it extremely difficult. Users can be forced to navigate as many as 23 screens and take as many as 32 actions to cancel, the FTC said. The FTC alleges that the company’s deceptive billing and cancellation practices violate the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.