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FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

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Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#71

Post by 3D0MR3991N »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #26
zeroonetwothree wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still better than having to call

Or go in person, like many gym memberships.

Just tell them you moved, that's why you're canceling, and you live nowhere near any of their other branches therefore it would be physically impossible for you to come in.

This works for me, and I have no qualms lying to circumvent stupid tactics like these. I have turned into a LIAR when speaking to customer service for stuff like this because it just makes me more sympathetic as a customer, even though it's insane and unfair that one has to do this as a sort of social hack instead of the business just doing the right thing.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#72

Post by vjvjvjvjghv »

NoTeslaThrow wrote: post #53

I can't express how angry it makes me that I only had access to taxis for a couple years in the city before they were all pushed out and rates were jacked, screwing both the customer and the driver providing the value. It will take decades to reverse this course even if everyone has decent intentions, and shareholders rarely do.

The taxi companies were dumb though. They should have embraced the internet and apps. I am still not sure how to even call a taxi in my town.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#73

Post by ceejayoz »

m463 wrote: post #48
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #16

Similar to CA's requirement for online cancellations if a subscription is purchased online, there should be a rule that requires the same amount of steps to cancel as it takes to subscribe . Yes it could still be gamed, but anyone who's worked on user funnels knows that every added step reduces conversion, so it would be self-balancing.

"same amount of steps to cancel as it takes to subscribe" I wonder... what if you artificially padded the signup process with feel-good stuff? - screen: Did you know, Scarlett also uses this service? - screen: Since you are signing up, we are adding a Free 10% off voucher for - screen: Our customer Service Representative (attactive person) is always standing by! etc... - screen : click [Yes] to sign up!

Someone’s gonna try interpreting that as actual keystrokes.

“We made you enter your name and address and password and credit card details. That’s 204 steps!”

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#74

Post by acdha »

alfalfasprout wrote: post #65
hammock wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Submit a credit card chargeback. They cannot charge you for a service not rendered

Then you can't use it anymore... that's kind of a problem when there's a duopoly in the rideshare space.

The answer to that problem is not giving them more money. They’re going to use that money to try to drive competitors out of the market and lobby for laws which harm riders and drivers.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#75

Post by darkwizard42 »

tristor wrote: post #55
paxys wrote: post #40

The latest dark pattern in all these apps is that they will mess up your order/ride and then "refund" you in the form of account credit. There's no way to actually get your money back. Trying to contact support results in an endless loop of help screens and chatbots. If you are able to figure out the magic combination of options that will get you to a support agent they will say "sure we will refund your money" but t…

The worst part is I have never figured out a way to spend any of my Uber credits. I have hundreds of dollars in Uber credits I've accumulated over the years, and I regularly use Uber, and yet have never spent any credits.

When you choose your payment method in the ride selection screen you should be automatically using credits (unless those credits are for something specific, like Eats, or something else).

I'm able to see this in my Uber app today (set a destination, then at the bottom of the screen is a row for payment options, clicking that will show you Uber balances (uber cash), payment methods, and vouchers) and am located in the US.

If you are not seeing this, I'm thinking you need to reach out to support via email and have a long (probably frustrating) conversation.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#76

Post by kmeisthax »

ProfessorLayton wrote: post #16

Similar to CA's requirement for online cancellations if a subscription is purchased online, there should be a rule that requires the same amount of steps to cancel as it takes to subscribe . Yes it could still be gamed, but anyone who's worked on user funnels knows that every added step reduces conversion, so it would be self-balancing.

The current head of the FTC's first act was to kill that exact rule.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#77

Post by PebblesRox »

scoofy wrote: post #32
cogman10 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was the process? In my mind it should be something like 3 or 4 screens/prompts max. Account (1) -> Cancel (2) -> Are you sure (3) -> Why did you cancel (4).

I’ve literally experienced (not with Uber, probably around 2010): 1: Account 2: Cancel 3: Call this number. 4: Call number. 5: Welcome to Customer Service press… … …press 9 to cancel. 6: We need to confirm who you are. Give birth date, etc. 7: Are you sure? 8: Agent gets on the line. 9: Why do you want to cancel? 10: We are offering you a discount to continue and not cancel, how about that? 11: Cancel 12: Are you sur…

I was part of a faith-based health sharing program for a few years. When it came time to cancel my membership, I had to call in and speak with a rep. I got past several rounds of retention attempts and succeeded in cancelling. The rep offered to pray for me before we ended the call and asked if I had any prayer requests. I mentioned something about getting over a bad cold and she said, “you know, one of the benefits that we offer—“

I felt a little bit bad about hanging up but mostly I was just mad.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#79

Post by sailfast »

Now please investigate their teaser rates to get you to choose Uber as a transport option when they know your driver is vapor and/or will cancel then charge 3x congestion pricing on the next refresh when it’s too late to pick another option. Infuriating practices, and the drivers seem to keep getting screwed on the gigs.

Re: FTC takes action against Uber for deceptive billing and cancellation practices

#80

Post by csharpminor »

teeray wrote: post #58
paxys wrote: post #40

The latest dark pattern in all these apps is that they will mess up your order/ride and then "refund" you in the form of account credit. There's no way to actually get your money back. Trying to contact support results in an endless loop of help screens and chatbots. If you are able to figure out the magic combination of options that will get you to a support agent they will say "sure we will refund your money" but t…

The worst thing is that you can't even do a chargeback, otherwise you get banned. There is no recourse for the consumer. If this is their solution for fighting chargebacks, they should get banned from accepting Visa / MC / AMEX.

Another sketchy practice: if you get Uber Cash through a card like Amex, when you go to use it the price for the ride is automatically $15-$20 more than someone who doesn’t have an Uber Cash balance.

I’ve checked this side by side with colleagues at the airport getting ride quotes to the same hotel. When you have Uber Cash they will quote you more. You can find numerous Reddit threads on the topic as well.

This feels very illegal to me, but not a lawyer.

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