- NordVPN faces a class action lawsuit in the US over alleged “deceptive and illegal” auto-renewal practices
- A US law firm has already brought lawsuits on behalf of four plaintiffs so far
- The auto-renewal system used by NordVPN isn’t dissimilar to that used by other major VPN providers
A US law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against NordVPN over alleged “deceptive and illegal” auto-renewal practices.
The lawsuit, which is still active at the time of writing, also accuses NordVPN of making it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions.
Despite some exceptions, almost all the best VPNs on the market have a similar auto-renewal system in place to handle users’ subscriptions.
Four legal complaints
Wittels McInturff Palikovic is the main legal firm behind the ongoing class action against NordVPN S.A., Tefincom SA d/b/a NordVPN, and Nordsec B.V.
As mentioned, the class action questions how the provider manages user subscriptions.
Specifically, lawyers are accusing NordVPN of using “deceptive and illegal ‘automatic renewal’ practices to dupe customers into unknowingly paying for unwanted, pricey subscriptions,” the class action’s main page reads.
The lawsuit also accuses the provider of employing so-called “dark patterns” when customers seek to cancel their subscriptions. These refer to deceptive design techniques aimed at manipulating user actions.
“As a result, the lawsuit alleges that NordVPN customers paid tens of millions of dollars more than they would have if NordVPN had not used deceptive and illegal automatic renewal practices,” concluded the lawyers.
Wittels McInturff Palikovic has already presented legal complaints on behalf of four former NordVPN customers so far – and seeks compensation of up to $100 million.
The first case TechRadar could find goes back to April 2024 and was filed in the Northern District of California. Two more cases were also filed last year, one in the Western District of North Carolina in July and another one in November in a Colorado federal court. NordVPN was dragged into Court again in the Southern District of New York last March on the same grounds.
In one of these cases (July 2024), allegations against NordVPN also include shady practices around cancellations during the 30-day money-back guarantee period.
According to the lawyers, “Nord Security did not adequately disclose to Plaintiff that it would retain his $131.76 payment despite his cancellation during the 30-day trial unless he affirmatively requested a refund.”
It is worth noting that, in at least two cases, NordVPN has already issued a refund to plaintiffs for the unwanted subscription charges.
What NordVPN is saying
When approached by TechRadar, a NordVPN spokesperson said that the company complies with legal requirements, while striving to provide excellent customer experience.
“Our auto-renewal practices are clear and straightforward. We are and always have been very clear about the recurring nature of our services, and we also send charge reminders to customers with long-term recurring subscriptions,” said NordVPN in a statement.
“Our goal is to provide our customers with services they use and enjoy every day; therefore, as a customer service matter, we may issue refunds even if customers have exceeded the 30-day money-back guarantee window. That said, two of the customers who brought lawsuits had received refunds before they sued.”
The class action is still active at the time of writing, and lawyers are urging all NordVPN customers who were charged for a subscription they did not want to get in touch.
The Wittels McInturff Palikovic firm has previously opened investigations into auto-enrollment practices against ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, and Private Internet Access (PIA).
Yet, no lawsuit was ever filed against these providers.
If you’re looking to sign up for a VPN service but don’t want to get locked into auto-renewing subscriptions, I recommend looking into Mullvad VPN. Besides being one of the most secure VPNs on the market, the provider axed all recurring subscriptions in 2022 to better preserve users’ privacy.
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