The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today sued Uber Technologies Inc. over a subscription service that it offers to customers of its ride-hailing and food delivery apps.

Uber One, as the offering is called, had 30 million users as of Dec. 31. For $9.99 per month, the company waives delivery fees on orders that exceed a certain price and applies a 10% discount. Subscribers also get 6% back on the cost of Uber trips.

In its lawsuit, the FTC claims that the company signed up “many” customers to Uber One without asking their consent. In one case, the ride-hailing provider allegedly charged an individual who didn’t even have an Uber account. Moreover, the FTC alleges that some users who had signed up for a free trial were billed before the trial expired.

The second section of the lawsuit focuses on the way Uber One was marketed. During the sign-up process, customers who buy the subscription are promised savings of up to $25 per month. The FTC says that this sum doesn’t include the $9.99 monthly price of an Uber One subscription.

Competition officials identified other issues as well. According to the FTC, Uber failed to provide Uber One customers with certain key information about the service before enrolling them. That information includes subscription billing dates and the steps involved in canceling membership.

According to the FTC, Uber made it “extremely difficult” for customers to end their Uber One subscriptions. Agency officials determined that canceling membership requires taking as many as 32 actions in 23 different screens. 

In some cases, Uber told customers that they must contact its support team to opt out of Uber One but didn’t specify how to do so. On other occasions, the company charged users while they were waiting on the support team to cancel their subscriptions. The FTC charges that Uber also urged some users to pause their subscriptions instead of canceling.

Uber said in a statement that “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.”

The lawsuit doesn’t mark the first time that the company has faced FTC scrutiny. In 2017, Uber paid $20 million to settle a lawsuit from the agency that accused it of misleading drivers. The following year, the company changed its cybersecurity practices to end a separate FTC lawsuit.

The agency filed its latest competition complaint against Uber with the the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The agency is seeking damages and an injunction that would require Uber to change the business practices at the center of the lawsuit. 

Photo: Uber