- ExpressVPN has been hit by a trial of alleged “illegal” auto-renewal of fees
- A Californian Customer accused ExpressVPN of automatically charging him a monthly fee without his consent
- The most popular VPN providers use a similar Auto-renewal system — a practice attorneys claim to go against California’s consumer legislation
A customer in the United States has sued VPN provider ExpressVPN over allegedly “illegal” auto renewal fees.
Plaintiff Timothy Millar filed a lawsuit against ExpressVPN before the California Court of Court on June 13, 2025 and accused the company of automatically charging a monthly fee without his consent. Millar seeks to represent himself and all other California consumers who have been charged illegal auto-renewal of 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 United States, which the law firm has already brought litigation on behalf of four plaintiffs so far.
What the trial against ExpressVPN is about
As claimed by the trial, Millar bought a month of the virtual private network (VPN) software in September 2022 and thought he made a one -time purchase.
Nevertheless, according to his monthly plan expired, “unaware of him and without his consent, Expressvpn signed him up in an automatic innovative monthly plan,” the case reads, claiming that “this tax was illegal and had to be repaid.”
According to Miller’s lawyers, such behavior is in clear contrast to the provider’s obligations under California’s Automatic Renewal Act (ARL). In fact, the law requires companies that adopt auto-renewal of payment systems to provide “clear and eye-catching” information about automatic renewal of the plan and get “affirmative consent” to sign up for consumers. Something that – the trial claims – Expressvpn failed to do “in almost every way.”
In addition, ExpressVPN is accused of violating the fake advertising law by conveying misleading advertisements about the automatic renewal The nature of its plans.
Miller now demands a jury attempt and monetary damage for himself and the proposed class.
Techradar approached ExpressVPN for comments, and a company spokesman shared this written statement: “We are aware of the archiving in relation to a subscription from several years ago and intends to defend it. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on the specific accusations of this complaint.
“ExpressVPN has always prioritized transparency and given users clear information about pricing, billing and auto renewal-this information is clear and very visible at each step in the box.
“As a cyber security company, it is important for our customers to provide uninterrupted protection.
“We remain focused on delivering value to our users; ensuring that they retain control of their digital privacy.”
Time to ditch auto-renewal VPN plans?
As mentioned earlier, NordVPN is also facing a trial of alleged “illegal and misleading” auto renewal practice.
Wittels McInturff Palikovic Law Firm has already presented legal complaints on behalf of four former NordVPN customers since April 2024 -and encourages all NordVPN users who were indicted for a subscription they did not want to come up with.
The same law firm has previously opened investigations into auto-registration practices against ExpressVPN, together with Proton VPN and private Internet access (PIA). Still, lawyers filed no lawsuits against these providers.
While it is still early to know if these ongoing class cases will change how VPN providers handle user subscriptions once and for all, there are a few exceptions on the market already that you can choose instead of being locked in an auto renewal. Mullvad VPN, who axed all recurring subscriptions in 2022 in the name of users’ privacy, is one of them.
