One of the best VPNs in the country is hit with a class-action lawsuit, with ExpressVPN customers claiming that the company is "illegally" charging them with auto-renewal fees on the service's subscription.
The customers alleged that the company automatically charges an account without their consent when subscribing to the service.
The plaintiff seeks to have the VPN company refund all unauthorized charges to customers in this lawsuit. While auto-renewal fees are common, the law requires them to be transparent about these fees.
ExpressVPN Sued for 'Illegal' Auto-Renewal Fees
According to a new report by TechRadar, a customer, Timothy Millar, has filed a class-action lawsuit against ExpressVPN earlier this June in a California court for their alleged illegal auto-renewal fees. Millar alleged that ExpressVPN charged him with alleged illegal fees without his consent after enrolling in the service after he bought only one month of subscription from ExpressVPN way back in September 2022.
However, after the one-month plan had elapsed, he was not made aware that the subscription would automatically continue charging his account, with his lawyers claiming that it was illegal and "should be refunded."
The lawsuit alleged that ExpressVPN failed to inform the customer "in nearly every way" that their subscription would be auto-renewed. California has a law called the "Auto Renewal Law" (ARL) which requires companies to provide "clear and conspicuous" messaging about auto-renewals and to also ask for "affirmative consent."
Read Also: FBI Sounds Alarm on Medusa Ransomware Cyberattack: Here's How Organizations Can Protect Themselves
US Class-Action Lawsuit vs. ExpressVPN
Millar, who filed the lawsuit in June, is now seeking other plaintiffs and customers to join the lawsuit and go against ExpressVPN's alleged illegal tactics to get subscriptions. Apart from this, the plaintiff is also asking for a jury trial, as well as monetary damages for himself and the class should they win the lawsuit.
Other VPN companies are also facing this kind of lawsuit for their alleged illegal auto-renewal tactics in their subscription service.
Auto-Renewal Fee Lawsuits
Most of the services in the world rely on a subscription to provide users with the best services available, may it be removing the ads in the process or giving them premium features. However, auto-renewal charges have been notorious over the years, with the United Kingdom's CMA looking to stop this among services, successfully pushing Nintendo and Sony to change their setup.
A previous lawsuit from a developer also prompted Apple to change its ways, with FlickType's app developer, Kosta Eleftheriou, alleging that the platform runs alleged scams. One of the issues he noted was the automatic renewal of subscriptions on the App Store which he suggested to be changed, prompting Apple to notify users that their subscriptions are ending and have them re-subscribe to it instead.
ⓒ 2025 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
