Consumer harm from subscription traps is getting worse, and the Government’s current plans to solve the issue will not work, warns Citizens Advice.
The charity’s research suggests that over 13 million people, or 26 percent of UK adults, have unintentionally signed up for a subscription in the past year. These subscriptions range from fitness apps and food delivery services to repeat pet food orders and magazine subscriptions.
Citizens Advice estimates that unused subscriptions have cost consumers £688 million in the last year, an increase of £382 million since it last investigated the issue at the end of 2022.
Of those who ended up with an accidental subscription, 40 percent said it renewed automatically without them knowing.
This was followed by 39 percent who started a subscription for a free trial but forgot to cancel it later, while 24 percent thought they were making a one-time purchase.
Citizens Advice warns that the failure to address subscription traps is not only a risk to consumers, who could end up spending more money than they initially planned or could afford, but also damaging to businesses.
More than half of people (54 percent) said they had chosen not to sign up for a subscription due to worries about how hard it would be to cancel.
The charity found that 74 percent of UK adults supported a ban on automatic subscription renewals where consumers had not actively agreed to it.
Citizens Advice is asking the Government to take action in the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. They want people to have a choice about automatic renewal of subscriptions and if they want to keep using a service after a free trial ends.
Dame Clare Moriarty, the boss of Citizens Advice, said that it’s not right for companies to make money because people forget to cancel after a free trial. She believes the Government’s current plans might not stop this problem.
“We need to see the root cause of subscription traps tackled head on. Consumers should be offered a choice over whether their subscriptions auto-renew and whether they want to continue after a free trial.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Business and Trade commented: “We know it’s frustrating to find out you’re still paying for something you weren’t expecting.”
They added that new laws this year will make sure people know what they’re signing up for and can easily stop subscriptions they don’t want, helping them to look after their money better.
“It’s vital consumers feel in control of their spending.”
“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.”
“While the Government has acknowledged subscription traps are a problem that need 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. Consumers should be offered a choice over whether their subscriptions auto-renew and whether they want to continue after a free trial.”
“We know it’s frustrating to find out you’re still paying for something you weren’t expecting.”
Opinium carried out a survey of 3,000 UK adults between January 26 and February 1.
