Scroll a month of US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) headlines and the brand names change — Wisey, JustAnswer, Uber One, Chegg, Shutterstock, Amazon Prime — while the skeleton stays familiar. Under the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) and Section 5 of the FTC Act, the agency keeps alleging the same three failures: unclear auto-renew terms, charges without express informed consent, and cancellation that is anything but simple.
Think of it as a checklist rather than a brand biography.
Bait price, real price. JustAnswer allegedly sold “join for $1 / $5” while enrolling people in $28–$125 monthly memberships. Shutterstock allegedly pitched “one-time” packs and monthly APM prices while burying year-long renewals and a 50% remaining-term cancel fee. Quiz-app cases in the Genesis Tech complaint used the same move with trial prices that flipped to tens of dollars a month.
Consent that is not really consent. Amazon Prime filings describe dark-pattern interfaces that produced “accidental” Prime sign-ups. Uber One complaints describe memberships appearing on statements when people said they never enrolled. ROSCA’s demand is blunt: get a clear yes to the recurring deal before you bill.
Cancel as retention. Chegg’s settlement story is a buried cancel link, multi-step confirms, and nearly 200,000 people charged after they asked to leave. Uber One’s alleged maze runs to many screens and gets worse near the billing date. Amazon’s cancel path, the FTC said, was built to keep members. Shutterstock’s early cancel allegedly meant fees, wrong phone numbers, or an eight-screen survey gauntlet.
Different costume, same rails. Air AI was not a $1 quiz — it was an AI business-opportunity pitch with earnings and refund claims — but it still shows how high-pressure funnels sell hope. Nuvei’s settlement is one layer deeper: processors that keep card rails open for tech-support scams even after network warnings.
None of these summaries replaces the dockets. Some matters settled with redress (Chegg $7.5M, Shutterstock $35M, Amazon’s multi-billion package, Nuvei $4.85M); others were still pending when written. Allegations are not convictions.
Before you enter a card for any “trial,” “join,” or “one-time” online deal: scroll the whole page under the big button; search the merchant plus “FTC” or “subscription”; confirm you can cancel in account settings without a fee surprise; screenshot the checkout. If money already left, use Get help and beware paid Recovery cold pitches.
Deeper reads on this site: JustAnswer, Shutterstock, Uber One, Chegg, Amazon Prime, Genesis playbook, Nuvei, Air AI.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.