The FTC said Uber failed to ‘clearly and conspicuously disclose’ all material terms to customers before obtaining their billing information.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against rideshare company Uber, accusing it of misleading customers, the agency said in an April 21 statement.
The FTC alleged that the 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.”
Uber’s “deceptive billing and cancellation practices” violate the FTC Act as well as the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), the agency said.
ROSCA requires online retailers to clearly disclose service terms, secure customers’ consent before charging them for a service, and offer a simple way to cancel any recurring subscriptions.
“Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said. “The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people.”
The lawsuit was filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.
Uber dismissed the FTC allegations in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.
A company spokesperson said Uber does not sign up or charge customers without obtaining consent and that subscriptions can be canceled anytime via the app, taking 20 seconds or less for most people.
The lawsuit charged Uber with a count of misrepresentation, alleging that the company “directly or indirectly, expressly or by implication,” indicated to customers that they could cancel subscriptions at any time without incurring any additional costs.
“Consumers cannot cancel at ‘any time’ without being charged additional fees,” the complaint alleged.
The Uber spokesperson said this process has been changed. In the earlier instance, customers who wanted to cancel within 48 hours of their next billing period were required to contact support to proceed with cancellation.
“This is no longer the case; consumers can now cancel in the app at any time, and we have refunded customers who had reached out to Uber Support to cancel within 48 hours of their next billing period,” the spokesperson said, adding that “consumers who canceled were never charged additional fees.”
