Subscription trap
Auto-renewal or recurring charges that are difficult to stop.
2,716complaints of this kind in the census
349companies affected
51%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
“they will keep taking money off your card and keep sending it despite wanting to pause or cancel.”
“they have already started trying to get payments from my card. I have locked my cards on a long term basis”
“They make it difficult to cancel the subscription and give no warning when an order is placed and charged”
Companies with the most reports of this kind
| Company | Reports | Share of its complaints |
|---|---|---|
| NutriPaw | 263 | 55% |
| Use AI | 238 | 28% |
| Smallpdf | 177 | 70% |
| Adobe | 133 | 44% |
| IObit | 55 | 18% |
| The Telegraph | 53 | 50% |
| Education.com | 44 | 57% |
| Shutterstock | 33 | 33% |
| Acorns | 30 | 7% |
| NOW | 30 | 13% |
| Pawp | 28 | 12% |
| 24 | 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.