New Jersey has joined a major lawsuit accusing Uber of trapping customers in a subscription that’s easy to sign up for and much more difficult to cancel.
The case, led by the Federal Trade Commission and backed by New Jersey and more than two dozen other states, targets Uber’s paid Uber One service. Regulators say Uber promotes the subscription service as a way to save money, then burdens users with a confusing cancellation process—keeping many tied to the subscription for longer than they intended.
According to the lawsuit, customers attempting to cancel Uber One are pushed through a maze of screens, prompts and loops. Some users reported clicking through upwards of 20 steps just to submit a cancellation request.
Once successful, cancellation isn’t immediate. Users must wait for an Uber representative to process the request—a delay that regulators claim has caused some to be charged for another month.
Uber One costs $9.99 per month or $96 per year. The subscription renews automatically. Uber says the service can be canceled at any time; however, the lawsuit argues that claim doesn’t match the reported experience.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin says subscription services should be as easy to cancel as they are to sign up for. According to Platkin, when companies design systems that confuse customers or quietly keep charging them, it becomes an issue of consumer protection.
The lawsuit also challenges Uber’s use of “negative option” billing, a method that charges customers unless they take action to end it. Regulators allege Uber automatically billed users after free trials ended, sometimes before the trial period was even over.
In select cases, the lawsuit claims users were charged early or signed up for Uber One without clear consent.
The states say those practices violate New Jersey and federal consumer protection laws. The lawsuit seeks refunds for customers, financial penalties for Uber and court-ordered changes to the company’s subscription system.
New Jersey residents who believe they were unfairly charged can file complaints online here.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.