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Uber to pay $28.5M to settle safety ad lawsuits

Posted at 3:04 AM, Feb 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-12 03:04:05-05

Uber says it will pay $28.5 million to settle two lawsuits that said the ride-hailing firm misled customers about its safety procedures and fees.

The company on Thursday told a federal judge in San Francisco that it wants to settle the class-action lawsuits by paying about 25 million riders who made trips between Jan. 1, 2013, and Jan. 31, 2016.

The judge must still approve the deal.

The lawsuits attacked Uber for charging a fee of up to $2.30 per trip for what the ride-hailing firm called industry-leading background checks on drivers. In fact, Uber doesn't do the kind of fingerprint checks required of taxi drivers.

Under the settlement, Uber would stop using certain "safety-related" advertising language and would rename its "Safe Ride Fee" as a "Booking Fee."