In most of these cases the customer doesn't realise what is happening until they notice continued payments disappearing from their bank accounts.' The UK ECC also received 39 complaints in the first eight months of 2017 about ‘classic subscription traps’ from consumers who had thought they were getting a good deal and found out in reality that they weren’t.Īndy Allen, UK ECC service director, had this caution for consumers: 'Very few, if any companies, will offer you a trial of anything unless it is going to lead on to further purchases and this is often done by an automatic renewal system which places the responsibility on the customer to actively cancel an ongoing contract. However, under the Consumer Rights Act, no business can enforce terms on a consumer that are deemed unfair. One person who contacted the Citizens Advice consumer service said they tried to cancel a subscription after they were made redundant at work only to be asked for proof from their employer, including a P45. They are also urging people to aware of the terms and conditions of contracts before signing up.Īccording to Citizens Advice, consumers paid an average of £160 over three months towards unwanted subscriptions like gym memberships, television, insurance and online streaming services.īetween June and August 2017, nine out of 10 people were initially refused by the company when they tried to cancel their subscriptions, by asking for more notice (of up to six months in some cases) or telling people they needed to cancel through a specific route, such as phone or email. Now, as part of National Consumer Week, Citizens Advice and UK European Consumer Centre are warning 40 million UK consumers who have a subscription that while it may be easy to sign up for these services, they can be difficult to get out of. Have you ever signed up for a free sample product, got an unused gym membership or paying for a streaming service that has gone unwatched? It turns out that you might be shelling out more than you think for goods that you never use.
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