Upset Uber customers charged for monthly memberships they say they never signed up for

Nora emmett kelly of Montreal says she feels duped by Uber after she discovered the ride-share program supercharged her repeatedly for a monthly rank that, to her knowledge, she didn’t pass.

Earlier this month, Kelly found five consecutive $11.49 charges on her credit card bills dating back to February for Uber One, a monthly membership program that provides discounts for the company’s ride-share and food delivery services. 

The problem is, Kelly swears she never signed up for a membership. 

“It really was astonishing — shocking, in fact — that they would be able to do this,” she said. “It feels like you've been taken for a fool.”

“I felt taken advantage of by Uber,” said Leah Billard of Ottawa. She got hit with a mysterious $108.48 charge in March for Uber One, for which she also insists she never signed up. 

Billard disputed the charge through her bank, which issued her card. 

Bank documents show Uber argued that Billard’s claim was invalid. Nevertheless, the bank ruled in her favour and she got her money back. 

“In my head, it was just, like, totally a fraud charge because I never signed up for anything,” said Billard. 

On social media, dozens more Canadians have posted similar complaints, many expressing bewilderment over how they were enrolled in Uber One. 

In the United States, complaints about unwanted Uber One memberships and unauthorized charges prompted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 21 states to file a lawsuit against Uber in December 2025, alleging deceptive billing and cancellation practices. 

Toronto-based tech expert Ritesh Kotak says dark patterns may be to blame when customers discover they're signed up for a subscription without their knowledge.

These subtle design tricks, embedded in websites and apps, are engineered to manipulate people into making unintended decisions online. 

“Dark patterns are used to nudge individuals psychologically, nudge them into clicking on something,” said Kotak.

A 2024 report by Canada’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner assessed 145 websites and apps accessible in the country and found that 99 per cent included at least one indicator of dark patterns.

A frequently cited example involves sneaking an extra item or service into a user's digital shopping cart. Once the person checks out, they unknowingly approve the purchase.

Prior to the Uber case, the FTC alleged in a 2023 lawsuit that Amazon used dark patterns, including at checkout, to manipulate customers into enrolling in monthly paid Amazon Prime subscriptions.

“In some cases, the button presented to consumers to complete their transaction did not clearly state that in choosing that option, they were also agreeing to join Prime,” the FTC said in a statement. 

Last year, Amazon agreed to pay a $2.5-billion US settlement in the case, but did not admit wrongdoing.

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“Uber does not enrol or charge people for Uber One without their consent. Customers must actively choose to sign up,” said spokesperson Keerthana Rang. 

Regarding the FTC lawsuit, Uber in the U.S. Denied the claims, stating that Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple and based on consent. 

The FTC lawsuit targeting Uber also alleges the company purposely made it difficult for people to cancel their unwanted memberships, essentially “trapping them in recurring subscriptions.” 

“That was like pulling teeth,” she said.

Furthermore, Kelly says Uber initially refunded only one of the five $11.49 charges made to her credit card — leaving her out $45.96.

“I just felt that I was robbed."

Uber’s Rang said customers can cancel their membership in the app at any time, and that the process generally takes less than 20 seconds. She also said that Kelly had “actively signed up” for Uber One and received a confirmation email.

It attributed the incident to "an Uber One billing issue." 

Although Uber denies using dark patterns, concerns about the design tricks are mounting, especially with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.

"The use of dark patterns … is going to continue to rise in Canada,” said Kotak. "It's a very easy way to monetize — to get people to to click on something, to get their hard-earned money."

But Sara Eve Levac, a lawyer with the consumer advocacy group Option Consommateurs, says Ottawa needs to adopt specific legislation making it clear that dark patterns fall into that category.

"It's important to consumers to be able to make decisions that are clear and informed," she said. "Dark patterns seek to manipulate their choices."

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