Uber Cooperates With FTC Investigation of Subscription Cancellation Policies

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reportedly is investigating consumer complaints that Uber Technologies signed them up for Uber One subscriptions without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel those subscriptions.

Uber said it has received inquiries from the FTC and is cooperating with the investigation, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Nov. 27).

“We will continue to answer any questions the FTC may have about our cancellation policies,” Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said in the report. “The Uber One cancellation process follows both the letter and the spirit of the law: Uber One members can easily cancel their membership in the app — in fact, the majority of those cancellations take 20 seconds or less.”

Uber One, which offers discounts on rides and delivery orders for an annual fee, has about 25 million subscribers, according to the report.

This report comes at a time when the FTC’s “click-to-cancel” rule is set to go into effect, mandating that sellers make it as easy for consumers to cancel their subscriptions, memberships and other recurring payment programs as it was to sign up.

When announcing the final rule in October, the regulator said the number of consumer complaints it receives about negative option and recurring subscription practices has steadily increased over the last five years to reach nearly 70 per day.

“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” Commission Chair Lina M. Khan said at the time in a press release. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money.”

Three trade associations filed a lawsuit Oct. 23 seeking to block the “click-to-cancel” rule, saying that the rule exceeds the FTC’s authority and is not supported by evidence.

In September, the FTC said that a federal court approved settlements in its complaint against defendants who operated four companies that the regulator alleged enrolled customers, without their knowledge, into continuity plans for products they did not buy.

The settlement required that the defendants, who sold or distributed CBD and keto-related products, forfeit assets valued at $40 million and be banned from certain conduct.