Subscription trap
Auto-renewal or recurring charges that are difficult to stop.
1,776complaints of this kind in the census
301companies affected
49%graded severe
Where you stand
You can withdraw a continuous payment authority directly with your bank or card provider, as well as with the trader.
General information about consumer rights in the UK, not legal advice for your situation.
Where to escalate
- Financial Ombudsman Service — Free and independent for banking, insurance, credit and payments — after you have complained to the firm and waited up to 8 weeks.
- Citizens Advice consumer service — Free first-line advice on consumer disputes in England, Wales and Scotland.
What people actually describe
“Once again British Gas Homecare tried to auto renew my Homecare”
“the price would shoot up year after year.”
“without termnate my contract british gas charged me double instalment even without my consent.”
Companies with the most reports of this kind
| Company | Reports | Share of its complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Smallpdf | 167 | 71% |
| Use AI | 134 | 22% |
| Adobe | 99 | 47% |
| IObit | 53 | 18% |
| The Telegraph | 44 | 48% |
| Shutterstock | 31 | 32% |
| Pawp | 28 | 12% |
| Acorns | 25 | 6% |
| Active.com | 23 | 37% |
| NOW TV | 22 | 13% |
| IONOS | ionos.co.uk | 21 | 11% |
| Acorn TV | 21 | 23% |
Counts depend on how many of each company’s reviews are in the census, so this ranks what we have read, not the whole market. See the full ranking.