- ExpressVPN has been hit by a class action lawsuit over alleged “illegal” auto-renewal fees
- A Californian customer accused ExpressVPN of automatically charging him a monthly fee without his consent
- Most popular VPN providers employ a similar auto-renewal system – a practice lawyers allege to go against California’s consumer law
A customer in the US has sued VPN provider ExpressVPN over allegedly “illegal” auto-renewal fees.
Plaintiff Timothy Millar filed a class action lawsuit against ExpressVPN in California’s Court on June 13, 2025, accusing the company of automatically charging him a monthly fee without his consent. Millar seeks to represent himself and all other California consumers who have been charged illegal auto-renewal fees at least once.
Despite a few exceptions, almost all the best VPNs on the market have a similar auto-renewal system in place to handle user subscriptions. Another provider, NordVPN, is facing a similar legal case in the US, as a law firm has already brought lawsuits on behalf of four plaintiffs so far.
What the lawsuit against ExpressVPN is about
As claimed by the lawsuit, Millar bought one month of the virtual private network (VPN) software in September 2022, thinking he was making a one-time purchase.
Yet, after his monthly plan expired, “Unbeknownst to him and without his consent, ExpressVPN enrolled him in an automatically renewing monthly plan,” reads the suit, alleging that “that charge was illegal and should be refunded.”
According to Miller’s lawyers, such behavior is in clear contrast with the provider’s obligations under California’s Automatic Renewal Law (ARL). The law, in fact, requires companies adopting auto-renewal payment systems to provide “clear and conspicuous” disclosures about the auto-renewal plan and obtain “affirmative consent” to enroll consumers. Something that – the lawsuit claims – ExpressVPN failed to do “in nearly every way.”
Furthermore, ExpressVPN is accused of violating the False Advertising Law by disseminating misleading advertisements about the automatically renewing nature of its plans.
Miller is now demanding a jury trial and monetary damages for himself and the proposed class.
TechRadar approached ExpressVPN for comments, and a company spokesperson shared this written statement: “We are aware of the filing in relation to a subscription from several years ago and intend to defend it. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the specific allegations made in this complaint.
“ExpressVPN has always prioritized transparency and giving users clear information about pricing, billing, and auto-renewal – this information is clear and highly visible at each step of the checkout process.
“As a cybersecurity company, providing uninterrupted protection is important to our customers. This subscription model ensures that customers get the protection they need, without fail, on their devices. Customers can switch auto-renew off anytime via their account dashboards or by contacting support.
“We remain focused on delivering value to our users; ensuring they retain control over their digital privacy.”
Time to ditch auto-renewal VPN plans?
As mentioned earlier, NordVPN is also facing a lawsuit over alleged “illegal and deceptive” auto-renewal practices.
The Wittels McInturff Palikovic law firm has already presented legal complaints on behalf of four former NordVPN customers since April 2024 – and urges all NordVPN users who were charged for a subscription they did not want to come forward.
The same law firm has previously opened investigations into auto-enrollment practices against ExpressVPN, too, alongside Proton VPN and Private Internet Access (PIA). Yet, lawyers filed no lawsuit against these providers.
While it is still early to know if these ongoing class actions will change how VPN providers handle user subscriptions once and for all, there are a few exceptions on the market already that you can opt for instead of getting locked into an auto-renewal plan. Mullvad VPN, which axed all recurring subscriptions in 2022 in the name of users’ privacy, is one of them.
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chiara.castro@futurenet.com (Chiara Castro)
