Nora Kelly of Montreal says she feels duped by Uber after she discovered the ride-share platform charged her repeatedly for a monthly membership that, to her knowledge, she didn’t authorize.

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.”

CBC News interviewed five other Uber users from across Canada with similar stories. Each said they were signed up for Uber One without their knowledge, and only caught the problem when they noticed an unusual Uber charge — or string of recurring charges — on their credit card. 

“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. 

Are dark patterns at play?

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.

Uber customers interviewed by CBC reported having no recollection of clicking on anything which indicated they wanted to join Uber One. Kotak says dark patterns can be so sophisticated that users may not realize what they’ve agreed to.

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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In an email to CBC, Uber Canada denied using dark patterns to get customers to sign up for its monthly program. 

“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. 

Cancellation complaints

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.” 

Five out of the six customers CBC interviewed said they found it hard to cancel and get their money back. Two, including Kelly, said they hadn’t recouped the full charges. 

Uber online chat transcripts reviewed by CBC News show Kelly communicated with multiple departments at Uber over two days before her membership was terminated. She estimates the entire process took about eight hours. 

“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.

Kelly denies that claim. And, following CBC’s inquiry to Uber about her case, the company apologized to Kelly by email and told her it was issuing a refund for the rest of her Uber One charges — which, according to Uber, totalled $57.45. The company also told Kelly she’d receive a $30 credit for Uber services. 

It attributed the incident to “an Uber One billing issue.” 

What is Canada doing?

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.”

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada spokesperson Justin Simard told CBC News that at the federal level, the use of dark patterns is covered under the Competition Act, which forbids false or deceptive marketing.

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.”