The FTC is investigating Uber over its subscription service

According to Bloomberg News, the US Federal Trade Commission is probing Uber over whether the enrollment and cancellation terms of its subscription plan, Uber One, violates consumer-protection laws.

The company reported in October that about 25 million people subscribe to its flagship program, which offers discounts on both Uber cab rides and Uber Eats delivery orders — a seemingly great deal... unless you want to cancel. Some customers have complained that they were signed up automatically to the service, then found it difficult to withdraw from. For example, a year ago, one user on Reddit protested the dark patterns they were faced with when trying to cancel Uber One:

While an Uber spokesperson said to Bloomberg that “members can easily cancel their membership in the app,” an analysis of Google search volumes finds that the ride-hailing product might be the latest iteration of pricey-subscription-you-forgot-about, following in the footsteps of services like Adobe and HelloFresh. Indeed, people have increasingly asked the search engine “how to cancel Uber One” since its launch at the end of 2021, with queries more than doubling from the start of the year to now.

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The move comes as the FTC continues to probe companies like Amazon and Adobe for making subscription terms elusive to consumers. In October, the agency finalized a rule that aimed to make canceling enrollment as easy as it is to sign up. The “click-to-cancel” rule came after the FTC received a deluge of comments from the public on the subject, with the agency reportedly receiving “nearly 70 consumer complaints per day on average” this year, up from 42 per day in 2021.

However, the final rule is currently being dogged with litigation, with businesses challenging monetary penalties sought by the agency. Soon after the presidential election, the FTC reached out to Uber to resolve their probe with a settlement — an offer which Uber’s outside counsel described as an “enormous monetary amount.” Uber made a counteroffer, which was reportedly rejected, per Bloomberg.

Subscription fatigue

As a growing number of companies pursue the subscription model — with everything from pet food to toilet paper to vegetables being offered to customers on a membership basis — Uber’s program is just one of many subscription services that consumers have been pushed to buy into, before being obstructed from opting out with “Are you sure?” pop-ups and box-ticking exercises.

According to a CNET survey conducted by YouGov, adults in the US spend an average of $91 each month on subscription services, with 60% of respondents reporting paying for a streaming or video subscription, 37% on e-commerce subscriptions like Amazon Prime, and 27% on bulk retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club. Not only this, but nearly half (48%) of those surveyed said they forgot to cancel a free trial of a paid subscription they’d signed up for, with almost a fifth saying this happened to them multiple times per year.