The Federal Trade Commission, along with 21 states and the District of Columbia, has filed an amended complaint against Uber Technologies. The complaint alleges that Uber charged customers for its Uber One subscription service without proper consent, did not provide promised savings such as $0 delivery fees, and made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.
The original lawsuit was filed by the FTC in April, focusing on what it described as deceptive billing and cancellation practices connected to Uber One. The amended complaint now includes participation from additional states and requests civil penalties for alleged violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act as well as state laws. States joining the action are Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Uber One is a subscription program that offers monthly or annual memberships with advertised benefits like discounts or promotions including $0 delivery fees and up to $25 in monthly savings. According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, some consumers reported not receiving these promised benefits or continued paying delivery fees despite claims otherwise.
The complaint further asserts that many customers were enrolled in Uber One without their knowledge or explicit agreement. Some who signed up for a free trial were automatically charged once the trial ended; others reported being billed without ever knowingly subscribing. Cancelling the service was described as complicated—requiring users to navigate through up to 23 screens and complete as many as 32 steps.
The FTC authorized filing of the amended complaint with a unanimous vote of 2-0. "The Commission files a complaint when it has 'reason to believe' that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court."
Lead attorneys for this matter include Paul Mezan, Stephanie Liebner and James Doty from the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The Federal Trade Commission advises consumers that it will never demand money or make threats regarding payments. Information on consumer protection topics can be found at consumer.ftc.gov; fraud reports can be submitted at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
