Consumers have spent half a billion pounds in the last year on subscriptions that renewed automatically without them realising, Citizens Advice has warned.
The charity is calling for a ban on subscription auto-renewals after finding that many had been lured in with a free trial and then forgotten to cancel.
Consumers in the UK spend more than £300 million a year on unused subscriptions, with 82% of those paying out on one reporting that it had renewed automatically, the Citizens Advice found.
Subscriptions, which can include services such as TV streaming like Netflix and Disney+, newspapers and magazines, food and drink and beauty products – are a growing market.
Three in four people in the UK (73%) have at least one subscription.
However, Citizens Advice said the way in which they were sold included techniques such as luring people in with a free trial – after which many did not remember to cancel – and burying future costs and exit fees in the small print of terms and conditions.
One in four (26%) had signed up to a subscription by accident, with most doing so because they did not get round to cancelling a free trial.
Citizens Advice found that almost half (46%) of people with mental health problems had signed up to a subscription by accident, as had 45% of people on Universal Credit.
One in five (21%) who tried to cancel a subscription found it difficult to do so, with a third (35%) only wanting a free trial in the first place.
Consumers had found that while it may only take a single click to sign up, there could be no option to close an account online and when trying to cancel there can be a minimum period before the customer can leave, an early exit fee or an incentive to stay.
The charity found that two thirds (66%) of people currently paying for unused subscriptions have cut back on essentials over the last six months and 33% of people who are currently feeling anxious as a result of their financial situation had fallen into a subscription accidentally in the last year.
The Government has announced plans to tackle subscription traps with reminders sent at the end of free trials and at the point of renewal, but Citizens Advice said it wanted a ban of automatic renewals.
It also wants customers to have to be asked for their consent at the end of a free trial before being put onto the paid subscription.
Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “With budgets increasingly squeezed and everyday living costs spiralling, it’s vital consumers feel in control of their spending. But many are currently feeling trapped in unused or unwanted subscriptions that can be difficult to break free of.
“Whilst the Government’s plans to tackle subscription traps are a positive first step, they don’t go far enough. More can and has to be done.
“Banning auto-renewals and ensuring people have to opt in, rather than opt out of subscriptions after receiving a free trial would lead to safer and better designed subscriptions and would save consumers millions of pounds.”
