Image source, SophieImage caption, Sophie believes setting a reminder is the best way to avoid subscription traps
ByLizzie AsanteBusiness reporter- Published51 minutes ago
Ever been confused by a random amount leaving your bank then had that sinking feeling it's a subscription you forgot to cancel or didn't mean to sign up to?
From TV streaming, to meal deliveries and beauty boxes there are subscriptions for almost everything.
Often the first order is free or heavily discounted so you give it a try and tell yourself you'll cancel it before the deadline. But it's easy to forget and sometimes not straightforward.
Following Prime Minister Andy Burnham's crackdown on subscription traps, three people tell us how they got into - and out of theirs.
1. Set reminders
Sophie Branscombe, 23 from Wirral, says she signed up for a free trial of a photo editor app then saw a payment of £89.99 had gone out of her bank.
"It was a free trial, and they did make it clear I was signing up to a subscription, but there was no reminder of when [the free period] would end," she says.
Sophie says she wasn't able to get a refund through the firm. Instead she submitted a refund request via Apple "report a problem" which refunded everything. The BBC has asked the company for a response.
Sophie's advice to others is to set reminders as soon as you sign up to a subscription for when the free trial ends.
"Make it a habit of checking what subscriptions run out and if you also find that you don't like something after signing up to a free trial, cancel straight away," she says.
2. Read the small print
Image source, HusseinImage caption, Hussein described the cancellation process as "near impossible"
Hussein Zaaiter, 21 from West London was using a free software trial for his university work and says when he tried to cancel he faced several complications.
"I tried online chat, email and even the phone at one point as they were constantly charging me," he says.
He says a payment of £16 left his account, then another of £32 before he froze his card. "They tried to charge me seven times," he says.
He contacted his bank to explain the situation in the hope of being reimbursed.
"I felt like it was marketed as a free trial that was easy to cancel.
"It was difficult to contact them, and the cancellation was near impossible," he says.
Hussein's tip for others is to read the terms and conditions and take caution before starting subscriptions. The BBC has contacted the firm for a response.
3. Don't assume your trial will end
Image source, RosalindaImage caption, Rosalinda spent 1.5 hours trying to contact customer service
Rosalinda Kwafo-Akoto, 22 from the West Midlands signed up for a one-week free TV trial. After the trial, the subscription would be £9.99 a month.
"I remembered before the end of the week that the trial was ending and tried to cancel it so I wouldn't be charged," she says.
She says she couldn't find the subscription anywhere on her account so assumed that they had automatically ended and removed it.
After a week, she realised that money had been taken out of her account.
She says it took her an hour and a half to get through to speak to someone on customer service and locate the subscription. Ros managed to cancel it and was refunded the full amount.
Ros's tip for others is don't assume that a subscription will automatically cancel just because you can't find it on your account.
"These companies make it as difficult as possible for you to cancel so make sure you get a confirmation email of your cancellation," she says. The BBC has contacted the firm for a response.
