Lawsuit against Uber over subscription service "Uber One"
Uber One offers discounts for 10 US-$ a month. Because the promise is exaggerated and termination is too difficult, the US trade regulator has filed a complaint
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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the ride-hailing company of making false promises with "Uber One", charging subscription fees too early and making it "extremely difficult" to cancel. The move is the authority's first initiative of its own against a single major tech company since Donald Trump became US president again, while several ongoing proceedings continue. The sued company itself has already denied the allegations and expressed disappointment, reports CNBC. The procedures for subscribing to and canceling "Uber One" are clear, simple and compliant with the law, the news site quotes an Uber spokesperson as saying.
False promises, difficult to cancel
For 10 US dollars a month, "Uber One" offers, among other things, deliveries via Uber Eats without delivery fees, and in return you get discounts when booking the ride services. The FTC is now criticizing the fact that users are being falsely promised savings of 25 US dollars per month, while the monthly fees are being ignored. In addition, fees were already deducted during the free trial month. Cancellation was extremely difficult, sometimes requiring up to 23 screens and 32 actions. Sometimes the costs were debited despite termination.
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CNBC also points out that both Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi have each donated one million US dollars to Donald Trump's inauguration. A whole series of tech companies and company bosses have donated this much money, presumably to put themselves on good terms with the new administration. The trade watchdog's press release states that "Trump's FTC and [US Vice President] Vance are fighting back on behalf of the American people". The people of the country are tired of having unwanted subscriptions forced on them "that seem impossible to cancel". According to CNBC, Uber is confident of winning its case in court.
(mho)
