Lawsuit alleges that Uber used deceptive enrollment, billing and cancellation practices in offering its subscription service, Uber One
Special to the News
Alabama Attorney General Marshall announced Wednesday that a coalition of 22 state or county law enforcement agencies have joined a lawsuit previously filed by the Federal Trade Commission against Uber Technologies Inc. and Uber USA, LLC, the operators of the popular rideshare and delivery company.
The lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and trial is currently scheduled for February 2027.
The lawsuit alleges that Uber used a variety of deceptive and unfair practices in offering and selling Uber One subscription services, which Uber promotes as saving money on rides and deliveries.
Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that Uber improperly used negative option marketing tactics when it offered free trial subscriptions – a practice that automatically charges consumers if they do not cancel a free trial.
The lawsuit alleges Uber misled consumers about the amounts they could save when subscribing to Uber One and that the companies made it extraordinarily difficult to cancel Uber One once enrolled. The complaint also alleges that Uber charged consumers before their billing date, including users whose free trial had not yet ended.
“Big corporations like Uber don’t get a free pass to break the law. Advertising ‘free’ trials and then trapping consumers in subscriptions they can’t easily cancel is deceptive, plain and simple,” Attorney General Marshall said. “Millions of Americans signed up for Uber One trusting the company’s promises. Others never signed up at all, yet were charged anyway. That kind of corporate abuse is exactly why our coalition joined the FTC’s lawsuit. We are standing up for consumers and sending a clear message: no company, no matter how big, is above the law.”
The attorney general’s lawsuit seeks restitution; as well as penalties, costs and an injunction against Uber; for alleged violations of Alabama’s Consumer Protection Act and the U.S. Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.
The state coalition, led by Maryland, includes the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as the district attorney for Alameda County.
Affected consumers can notify the attorney general of their claims by filing a consumer complaint at www.alabamaag.gov/consumer-complaint or by calling the Consumer Hotline at 1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7335.
