The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be issuing a refund of nearly $20 million from a fine Uber was ordered to pay to the company’s drivers as part of a settlement between the FTC and Uber.
The FTC issued the $19,798,233 fine January 19 because Uber — worth $62 billion, according most recent valuation — “misled prospective drivers about the terms of its vehicle financing options.”
“Many consumers sign up to drive for Uber, but they shouldn’t be taken for a ride about their earnings potential or the cost of financing a car through Uber,” said the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Jessica Rich, when Uber agreed to pay the fine. “This settlement will put millions of dollars back in Uber drivers’ pockets.”
“Uber falsely claimed on its website that uberX drivers’ annual median income was more than $90,000 in New York and over $74,000 in San Francisco,” the FTC wrote in an announcement. “In fact, drivers’ annual median income in those cities was actually much lower and very few drivers — less than 10 percent — earned the yearly income Uber touted, according to the FTC.”
The FTC will issue an average refund of $222.96 to 88,799 Uber drivers based on several factors including “how much recipients earned with Uber, in which cities and states they drove, and the total amount of money available in the settlement fund.” The Uber drivers were potentially prevented from making thousands of dollars, The Outline reported.
Epiq, the refund administrator for this matter, began mailing refund checks July 16. (RELATED: Uber, Lyft Driver Fired For Live-Streaming Hundreds Of Rides)
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