If you drive for Uber, there’s a chance you could see a check arriving in your mailbox very soon. It’s all thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, which settled a complaint against Uber for allegedly misleading prospective drivers with exaggerated earning claims and claims about financing through its Vehicle Solutions Program.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Uber exaggerated the yearly and hourly income drivers could make in certain cities in an effort to attract prospective drivers. The FTC says they also mislead potential drivers about the terms of their vehicle financing options.
Uber agreed to pay $20 million to settle the complaint and now, the FTC has announced more than 88,000 drivers will get a share of the money. The average refund amount is $222.96, which is based on multiple factors, such as how much recipients earned with Uber, in which cities and states they drove and the total amount of money available in the settlement fund.
Uber drivers are eligible for a check if they started driving when the allegedly deceptive ads ran in certain cities and states (generally in 2014 and 2015), and they did not make the income promised in the ads. To see the list of eligible areas, just visit the FTC’s website.
Refunds have already started going out and will be mailed by an administrator, Epiq. If you receive one, you must cash your check within 60 days. If you have questions, you can call the refund administrator at 888-506-8281.
Just how much were the incomes exaggerated? The FTC says Uber’s website showed uberX drivers’ annual median income was more than $90,000 in New York and over $74,000 in San Francisco. The FTC says, however, that drivers’ annual median income was actually $61,000 in New York and $53,000 in San Francisco. In all, they say, less than 10 percent of drivers in both cities actually earned the yearly income Uber said they would.
Did you or someone you know drive for Uber in the eligible cities between 2014 and 2015?