Uber is in hot water over its billing and cancellation practices, which are allegedly endangering the welfare of its passengers.
Scammy?
Particularly, this is over the Uber One subscription service. Officially, Uber One’s cancellation and refund policies state that passengers can cancel this subscription from the following billing date or the expiration date. They only need to turn off the automatic renewal option. However, what’s great is that even after canceling their Uber One, they can still continue to use the benefits until the next billing date, similar to the state in the previous statement here.
However, the Federal Trade Commission is finding this policy deceptive, so they sued Uber on Monday.
FTC said, “Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel.”
They added that Uber One, a by-subscription service that offers discounts on rides and deliveries, are charging customers without their consent, so it is difficult for them to cancel, despite the “Cancel Anytime” marketing strategy, similar to others like Netflix.
Additionally, the FTC also stated Uber “failed to delivery promised savings” for the Uber One subscription, stating the platform “does not account for the cost of the subscription when calculating those savings.”
No customer stories
However, based on reports on major news outlets, no customers are quoted as being affected by this alleged manipulation, as stipulated in the case filed by the FTC, except for the lawsuit citing customers who allegedly enrolled without their consent and were charged before the billing date.
Specifically, the lawsuit cited examples of customers who stated their signed up for a free trial, but were automatically charged before the free trial even concluded.
The FTC added that when cancelling, users were forced to click through up to 23 screens and take up to 32 actions before their request for cancellation was approved.
“Some users are told they have to contact customer support to cancel but are given no way to contact them; others claim that Uber charged them for another billing cycle after they requested cancellation and were waiting to hear back from customer support,” the FTC’s media stated.
Still, what’s mind-boggling is that the mainstream media never reported customers as proof of the FTC’s accusations.
Uber fights back
So, Uber is fighting back against the allegations, citing that they are “disappointed” and that the complaint was based on “misunderstandings.”
“We are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action, but are confident that the courts will agree with what we already know: Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law. 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,” Uber courageously started.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and specifically accuses Uber of violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.