Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Amazon sued for enrolling and charging customers into Audible without consent

2025-10-08T19:06:07Z

HelpingTheCause: Reworded for neutral tone.

{{ToneWarning}}{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Amazon, Audible
|StartDate=2024
|EndDate=2025
|Status=Active
|ProductLine=Audible membership
|Product=Amazon Prime
|ArticleType=Service
|Type=Service Termination
|Description=Audible enrolled Amazon customers in Audible memberships without their knowledge or consent
}}'''[[Audible]]''', a subsidiary of [[Amazon]], has two pending class action lawsuits against them for enrolling Amazon customers into the Audible membership and charging them the $14.95/month subscription fee without the customers' consent.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Sherk |first=Grace |date=11 Mar 2025 |title=Sherk v. Audible, Inc |url=https://www.classaction.org/media/sherk-v-audible-inc-complaint_1.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=18 Sep 2025 |website=Class Action}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Stutland |first=Donielle |date=10 Jan 2025 |title=ADVERTISING—W.D. Wash.: Amazon and Audible can’t escape class action over auto-enrollment, (Jan 10, 2025) |url=https://www.vitallaw.com/news/advertising-w-d-wash-amazon-and-audible-can-t-escape-class-action-over-auto-enrollment/ald01d087b56ebb9f46a4a141a2e6b95e6cdd |url-status=live |access-date=18 Sep 2025 |website=Vital Law}}</ref>

==Background==
In Sherk v. Audible, the plaintiff alleges Audible enrolled existing Amazon account holders into Audible’s monthly subscription (“membership”) without their knowledge or consent.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-23 |title=Amazon Audible faces class action over unauthorized subscriptions |url=https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/amazon-audible-faces-class-action-over-unauthorized-subscriptions/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250826232032/https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/amazon-audible-faces-class-action-over-unauthorized-subscriptions/ |archive-date=2025-08-26 |access-date=2025-08-26 |work=Top Class Actions}}</ref> The complaint claims Audible used payment information already on file with Amazon, charged monthly membership fees, and made it difficult for users to find out about, cancel, or get refunds for these subscriptions.

In Heck v. Amazon, the plaintiff used Amazon’s “FREE No-Rush Shipping” option, which came with a “digital reward.”<ref name=":2" /> She later discovered that redeeming this reward resulted in her personal and payment information being passed to Audible. The lawsuit alleges Audible then enrolled her in a 30-day trial that automatically converted into a paid subscription unless affirmatively canceled. The plaintiff alleged she never received notice, confirmation, or cancellation information and was billed for several months without knowledge.

==Incident==
The plaintiff states that the victims of Amazon's enrollment to Audible had a difficult time cancelling the subscription service, which may be due to the company's failure to enact [[click-to-cancel]]<ref name=":0" /> that can result in customers continuing to be charged for the service during the time it takes them to cancel.

A different, similar lawsuit was filed in January 10th, 2025, claiming Amazon would pass consumer information to Audible and Audible would sign up consumers for a free trial.<ref name=":2" /> After the free trial expired, the consumer would be transitioned to a paid subscription, without notifying the consumer.

===Coporate response===
Amazon and Audible responded to Heck’s claims by arguing that they had no duty to disclose any link between "No-Rush Shipping" rewards and Audible enrollment, since the rewards were marketed as digital credits and any Audible trial was separate, voluntary, and disclosed.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Chun |first=John |date=8 Jan 2025 |title=ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/heck-v-amazon-ucsd-western-washington-opinion.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=18 Sep 2025 |website=courthousenews.com}}</ref> They contended that Heck failed to show reliance or causation, as her choice of "No-Rush Shipping" was motivated by free shipping rather than Audible. They further claimed compliance with the California Auto-Renewal Law by providing clear terms, obtaining consent, and sending acknowledgment emails, suggesting Heck either ignored or forgot these notices. Drawing on ''Viveros v. Audible'', they insisted the signups were transparent and optional, meaning Heck must have consented. Finally, they questioned whether she suffered any real injury, noting she received both rewards and the Audible trial and could have canceled before charges accrued, making her losses the result of her own inaction rather than deception.

The court rejected most of these arguments at the dismissal stage.<ref name=":3" /> It found that Heck plausibly alleged non-disclosure, lack of consent, and ARL violations, which are sufficient to proceed. Importantly, the court said the situation was unlike Viveros, since Heck alleged she was enrolled in Audible without realizing it, whereas Viveros involved consumers knowingly signing up.

==Lawsuit==
In ''Sherk v. Audible'', the plaintiffs claim that customers were enrolled in Audible memberships without their consent, often without realizing they had been signed up at all.<ref name=":1" /> Audible allegedly used personal and billing information already stored in Amazon accounts to facilitate these enrollments and failed to provide clear written confirmation or conspicuous notice of recurring charges. Many customers only discovered their membership after unexpected billing and, according to the complaint, Audible made cancellation difficult, with some users continuing to be charged even after attempting to cancel. The lawsuit further alleges that many of these “nonconsensual enrollees” never used Audible’s services and that Audible either knew or should have known about the widespread problem, given numerous complaints on public forums and consumer watchdog sites. Despite this knowledge, Audible is accused of failing to correct the practice because it generated revenue. Additionally, Audible allegedly restricted refunds, making it difficult for customers to recover payments, and was therefore unjustly enriched by retaining subscription fees from customers who had never agreed to join. The plaintiffs seek restitution and disgorgement of these funds as relief.

In ''Heck v. Amazon.com Inc.'', the plaintiff alleges that Amazon and its subsidiary Audible automatically enrolled her in an Audible membership without her knowledge or consent after she selected the “No-Rush Shipping” option for Amazon Prime orders, which provided digital rewards.<ref name=":2" /> Heck claims that she was never informed that redeeming these rewards would result in an Audible trial that would automatically convert into a paid subscription, nor did she receive clear communications about the terms, cancellation policy, or how to opt out. She further alleges that Amazon had exclusive knowledge of this enrollment process and failed to disclose it, creating a situation in which she was charged $14.95 per month for services she did not knowingly subscribe to. The lawsuit asserts violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), the Unfair Competition Law (UCL), and the Auto-Renewal Law (ARL), focusing on non-disclosure, lack of affirmative consent, and the economic harm caused by these automatic charges. Relief sought includes damages and restitution for the unauthorized subscription fees, emphasizing the alleged deceptive practices and failure to obtain informed consent before billing.

==Consumer response==
{{Ph-I-ConR}}

The below link includes the original Heck v Audible lawsuit:

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63576669/1/2/heck-v-amazoncom-inc/

The original lawsuit has some consumer responses that should be pulled and quoted here.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Audible]]

Proton Mail

2025-10-07T20:43:01Z

HelpingTheCause: Removed irrelevant political affiliation to the topic.

{{Stub}}
{{ToneWarning}}

ProtonMail is a privacy focused email client based in Switzerland which has partnered with non Swiss content delivery networks like Radware. ProtonMail offers cloud email, calendar, VPN, and cloud storage services. ProtonMail has a marketing focus on privacy over competitors like Google or Microsoft.

==False advertising and work with authorities==
Protonmail has advertised itself as a private and secure service, as by their own words "No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any IP logs which can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first.", which was part of the advertising on their official website<ref><nowiki>https://web.archive.org/web/20210831234120/https://protonmail.com/</nowiki></ref> (www.protonmail.com, now www.proton.me). As it turned out, that statement was false. In 2021, a member of a French activist group had been using Protonmail to communicate with the group, and as an investigation was launched involving them, the email provider has quickly handed over the user's IP address and other data like the device they were using.<ref><nowiki>https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/</nowiki></ref> After the news reached the public and sparked a controversy, claims about the lack of IP logging were swiftly removed from the website. The company tried to excuse their behavior by stating, that they do not have to comply with authorities such as EUROPOL, and although this may be true, in cases of investigations the bigger organizations from outside simply use the Swiss government as a middleman to get any request through that they wish. Protonmail is not anonymous and any information will be handed over when requested by the Swiss government, which does also cooperate with other investigative authorities, leading to essentially no protection in case of any such event.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/ Proton official response on the Proton subreddit]

Proton announces partnership with Zoom, a non private messaging platform.

[https://proton.me/support/calendar-zoom How to add Zoom meetings to event invitations]

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Proton]]

Virtual Racing School

2025-10-07T20:18:51Z

HelpingTheCause: Attempted to add a more neutral tone.

{{StubNotice}}
{{Tone}}
{{CompanyCargo
|Founded=2016
|Industry=Simulation Racing
|Type=Private
|Website=https://vrs.racing/
|Logo=VRS.png}}
Virtual Racing School (VRS) was founded in 2016 by Peter Dimov<ref>{{Cite web |title=VRS About Us |url=https://vrs.racing/about-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250723122645/https://vrs.racing/about-us |archive-date=23 Jul 2025 |access-date=22 Aug 2025}}</ref>.

VRS is a Private for-profit hardware and software manufacturer for devices related to simulation racing. VRS sells different steering wheels, wheel bases, pedals and other products and accessories in addition to live coaching from professional sim racers they are partnered with<ref>{{Cite web |title=VRS shop showing the current products they sell. |url=https://vrs.racing/shop |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250723122628/https://vrs.racing/shop |archive-date=23 Jul 2025 |access-date=22 Aug 2025}}</ref>.
==Consumer-impact summary==
*'''User freedom:''' VRS has a history of utilizing software codes to lock customers out of the complete functionality of hardware they have already paid for. This is documented in [[VRS Sim Racing Wheel Base full torque locked behind paywall]]<ref name=":0" />
*'''User privacy:''' VRS will collect your name, email address, and any other information you enter into the service for purposes of advertising and can retain your information for legal purposes for as long as they deem reasonable. VRS will collect additional telemetry data through the use of web beacons and cookies on their website and coaching service from users for advertising, coaching, and legal purposes. VRS states in their privacy policy that they are able to share your data with third parties in the event of a merge or legal request. It is not clear if they sell your data to other companies not outlined for these purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VRS Privacy Policy |url=https://vrs.racing/privacy-policy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250621004245/https://vrs.racing/privacy-policy |archive-date=21 Jun 2025 |access-date=22 Aug 2025 |website=VRS Privacy Policy}}</ref>
*'''Business model:''' Private, for-profit. Sells Hardware, software and Coaching services related to simulation racing.

==Incidents==
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

===VRS Sim Racing Wheel Base full torque locked behind paywall (2025 - Ongoing)===
<blockquote>''Main Article:'' [[VRS Sim Racing Wheel Base full torque locked behind paywall]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=VRS Sim Racing Wheel Base full torque locked behind paywall |url=https://consumerrights.wiki/VRS_Sim_Racing_Wheel_Base_full_torque_locked_behind_paywall |access-date=22 Aug 2025}}</ref>

</blockquote>
[[File:UDFP20 purchase options.png|alt=VRS uDPF20 Product purchase page showing "You'll receive an Upgradable Torque Wheel Base and a torque unlock code for (X)Nm. (upgradable to 9, 12, 15, 20 Nm)"|thumb|VRS uDPF20 Product purchase page showing "You'll receive an Upgradable Torque Wheel Base and a torque unlock code for (X)Nm. (upgradable to 9, 12, 15, 20 Nm)"<ref name=":2" />]]
VRS sells the [https://vrs.racing/hardware/udfp20-wheel-base uDFP20 Wheel Base] <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=VRS udpf20 wheel base |url=https://vrs.racing/hardware/udfp20-wheel-base |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250719211822/https://vrs.racing/hardware/udfp20-wheel-base |archive-date=19 Jul 2025 |access-date=22 Aug 2025 |website=VRS udpf20 wheel base}}</ref>, a wheel base which is capable of outputting higher performance (20 Nm of torque), but the wheel base is locked to a lower performance (6, 9, 12, or 15 Nm of torque). To unlock the rest of the device's performance, the customer is required to purchase a software unlock code to gain access to the higher amounts of performance and use their wheel with the 15 or 20 Nm of torque options that are already supported by the motor.

VRS does not allow the customer to purchase a motor at 20 Nm of torque directly and the customer is required to purchase an unlock code to be entered into the 'VRS DirectForce' configuration tool for full functionality of the wheel base.

VRS states "No subscriptions, no gimmicks—just raw, permanent power at your fingertips."<ref name=":1" /> and "it evolves with your skills, delivering pro-level torque without replacing your gear."<ref name=":1" /> However, they violate the customer's consumer rights by locking away functionality they have already paid for behind an unlock code.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=VRS uDFP20 product purchase page |url=https://vrs.racing/product/pro-wheel-base-upgradable-torque |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250723122645/https://vrs.racing/product/pro-wheel-base-upgradable-torque |archive-date=23 Jul 2025 |access-date=22 Aug 2025 |website=VRS uDFP20 product purchase page}}</ref>

==Products==
No VRS products have been directly reviewed on the Wiki. If a product review is created, it should be added here.

==See also==
If there are additional cases or issues which are similar or link to VRS's practices, it should be added and linked here.

==References==
<references />
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]