The amount consumers spent on accidental subscriptions that are easy to get into but hard to cancel has doubled in a year, Citizens Advice has warned, with customers shelling out millions.
Research for the charity found that more than 13 million people (26% of UK adults) have accidentally taken out a subscription in the past 12 months. These covered services from fitness apps to food delivery services and pet food.
Consumers thought they were buying a one-off product or service, or signing up to a free trial, but were in fact being enrolled into a continuing payment.
Unused subscriptions cost consumers £688m last year, the charity said, up from £306m at the end of 2022. It could not say why it has risen so much but said it showed that “the problem of subscription traps is deepening”.
Dame Clare Moriarty, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Companies relying on people forgetting to cancel at the end of a free trial is an unacceptable business model that exploits busy, cash-strapped consumers.”
She said: “With budgets increasingly squeezed … it’s vital consumers feel in control of their spending.”
The charity urged the government to clamp down on this practice in the digital markets, competition, and consumer bill progressing through parliament. It wants to see consumers offered a choice over whether their subscriptions are subject to auto-renewal and if they want to continue with them at the end of a free trial.
Three-quarters (74%) of UK adults support a ban on automatic subscription renewals without explicit consent from consumers.
Moriarty said: “While the government has acknowledged subscription traps are a problem that needs to be fixed, the plans laid out in the upcoming consumer bill risk failing to fix them. We need to see the root cause of subscription traps tackled head on.”
One consumer, who spoke to Citizens Advice anonymously, said they had signed up for a free trial on a food delivery app which they planned to cancel at the end of the trial period.
“When I followed the instructions to cancel it didn’t work,” they said. “I contacted their help team but they just resent the instructions for cancelling again. This went back and forth for two months, which they charged me for despite me sending them a screen recording of the button not working. They ultimately cancelled my subscription but refused to refund me.”
Another told Citizens Advice they had downloaded a TV app which advertised a seven-day trial “but money was immediately taken from my bank account”.
They said: “I contacted the TV app which blamed my phone’s app store, but my app store told me it was the fault of the TV app. I checked the app reviews and this has happened to lots of people, for well over a year.”
Citizens Advice’s poll of 3,000 UK adults found that of those who ended up with an accidental subscription, the most common reason was that it had auto-renewed without their knowledge . This is followed by people who took out a subscription for a free trial but forgot to cancel later. Almost a quarter thought they were making a one-off purchase.
A department for business & trade spokesperson said: “We know it’s frustrating to find out you’re still paying for something you weren’t expecting.
“That is why we are delivering legislation this year that will ensure consumers have clear information about their subscription terms and can exit unwanted subscriptions easily, giving them peace of mind and greater control of their cash.”
