19 October 2023 , 09:51
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Borrowers are unwittingly being signed up to paid-for subscriptions for “savings” sites after searching for loans online, Which? has warned.
The consumer champion has issued a new alert after investigating dozens of complaints from Brits. Some people told Which? they ended up paying £29.95 a month for subscriptions to websites they've never heard of.
In most cases, they had been asked to approve a charge of 12p or 14p to “verify” their bank account when using a loan broker website. Which? investigated 13 different “savings” sites which claim to send users daily discount codes, or offer to help rebuild your credit report.
However, in most complaints Which? looked at, those affected said they had never heard of the websites in question. Which? said: “It’s likely that some were signed up after inadvertently ‘opting in’ to a service, perhaps by ticking a box or failing to untick one when searching for a loan.”
Many customers said they also had problems trying to cancel their subscription. If you’re unable to contact the company in question, Which? recommends contacting your bank to stop future payments.
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Subscription payments are usually taken by a method called continuous payment authority (CPA) - and this cannot be set up without your consent. Once you have withdrawn your consent by contacting the company involved or your bank or card provider, any further transactions should not be taken.
If any payments are taken after this point, Which? recommends contacting your bank or card provider and asking for your money back on the basis of these payments not being authorised. Which? said: "To request reimbursement for an unauthorised transaction, notify your bank as soon as possible. You can do this by calling the number on the back of your card or by disputing the transaction on your banking app."
If the bank refuses to help you, and you believe you should be owed money back, you can contact the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS will look at evidence to see if the company got your agreement to set up a CPA, and if the customer clearly understood what they were signing up for. If it agrees the CPA was set up without your knowledge, Which? says you'll be entitled to a refund of the payments.