- Expressvpn has been beaten by collective claim on alleged “illegal” renewal fees
- A Californian client accused Expressvpn of automatically charging him a monthly rate without his consent
- The most popular VPN suppliers use a similar Automatic renewal system: Practice lawyers claim to go against California consumer law
A client in the United States has sued the VPN Expressvpn supplier for allegedly fees for renewal of the “illegal” renewal.
The plaintiff Timothy Millar filed a collective claim against Expressvpn in the California court on June 13, 2025, accusing the company to automatically charge a monthly rate without its consent. Millar seeks to represent himself and all other consumers in California who have charged illegal automatic renewal rates at least once.
Despite some exceptions, almost all the best VPNs in the market have a similar car system to handle user subscriptions. Another supplier, Nordvpn, faces a similar legal case in the United States, since a law firm has already brought demands in the name of four plaintiffs so far.
What is the demand against Expressvpn
As stated by the lawsuit, Millar bought a month of the private private network (VPN) virtual software in September 2022, thinking that I was making a unique purchase.
However, after his monthly plan expired, “without him knowing and without his consent, Expressvpn enrolled him in a monthly automatic renewal plan,” reads the demand, claiming that “that position was illegal and should be reimbursed.”
According to Miller’s lawyers, this behavior contrasts with the supplier’s obligations under the Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) of California. The law, in fact, requires that companies that adopt automatic renewal payment systems provide “clear and conspicuous” revelations about the automatic renewal plan and obtain an “affirmative consent” to register consumers. Something that, the lawsuit states, Expressvpn could not do “in almost all the senses.”
In addition, Expressvpn is accused of violating the false advertising law by disseminating deceptive ads about automatically renewal renewal nature of their plans.
Miller now demands a jury trial and monetary damage for him and for the proposed class.
Techradar approached Expressvpn for comments, and a company spokesman shared this written statement: “We are aware of the presentation in relation to a subscription of several years ago and we intend to defend it. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the specific accusations made in this complaint.
“Expressvpn has always prioritized transparency and has provided users clear information about prices, billing and automatic renewal: this information is clear and highly visible in each step of the payment process.
“As a cybersecurity company, providing uninterrupted protection is important for our customers. This subscription model guarantees that customers obtain the protection they need, without fail, in their devices. Customers can automatically disconnect any time through the panels of their account or contact the support.
“We remain focused on delivering value to our users; ensuring that they maintain control over their digital privacy.”
Is it time to get rid of the VPN plans of automatic renewal?
As mentioned earlier, Nordvpn also faces a demand for the alleged “illegal and deceptive” self-harm practices.
The Wittels Mcinturff Palikovic law firm has already filed legal complaints on behalf of four former NordvPN clients since April 2024, and urges all NordvPN users who were charged for a subscription that they did not want to appear.
The same law firm has previously opened investigations on automatic registration practices against Expressvpn, together with Proton VPN and private Internet access (PIA). However, lawyers did not file any lawsuits against these suppliers.
While it is early to know if these current class actions will change how VPN suppliers manage users’ subscriptions once and for all, there are some exceptions in the market that can be chosen instead of blocking in an automatic renewal plan. Mullvad VPN, who eliminated all recurring subscriptions in 2022 in the name of user privacy, is one of them.
