Nora Kelly, a resident of Montreal, expressed feeling deceived by Uber upon discovering multiple unauthorized charges for a monthly membership called Uber One on her credit card statements. Kelly found five consecutive charges of $11.49 each dating back to February, even though she claims she never signed up for the membership.
Similarly, Leah Billard from Ottawa reported a mysterious $108.48 charge for Uber One in March, which she states she did not authorize. Despite her dispute with the bank, Uber contested the claim, but Billard eventually received a refund.
Following these incidents, several other Uber users in Canada reached out to CBC News with similar stories of unauthorized charges for Uber One. In the United States, complaints about unwanted Uber One memberships led to a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and 21 states in December 2025, alleging deceptive billing practices.
Tech expert Ritesh Kotak from Toronto suggested that dark patterns, manipulative design techniques on websites and apps, might be responsible for customers unknowingly signing up for subscriptions. These tactics can lead users to unintentionally agree to services without realizing it.
Uber denied using dark patterns to enroll customers in Uber One without consent. The company emphasized that customers need to actively choose to sign up. However, some customers faced difficulties canceling their memberships and obtaining refunds, with Kelly spending hours communicating with Uber to terminate her membership.
Despite Uber’s initial reluctance to refund Kelly fully, the company eventually apologized and refunded her charges. Concerns about dark patterns persist, and experts call for clear legislation to address deceptive marketing practices and protect consumer rights.
