I recently discovered that a company called Complete Savings has been taking £15 a month from our joint bank account since June – despite neither of us knowing anything about it.
It transpired that while buying a ticket on the Trainline website, I inadvertently signed up. After I bought the tickets, a bold message was displayed saying: “Your booking is complete. Click here to claim your £16.87 cashback on your next Trainline booking.”
I clicked and Complete Savings popped up. Since then, it has been taking the £15 every month.
Complete Savings did cancel my “membership” and I even managed to get it to refund me. What I’m shocked by is how a company like Trainline is, in effect, allowing another company to take advantage of its customers in this way. I certainly don’t remember agreeing to join. In my view it is deliberately misleading – can this really be legal?
CW, Brixton London
I warned about these paid-for cashback deals in 2015 and, like you, questioned why Trainline was offering this supposed “service” that has caught out so many.
Complete Savings promises a cashback of up to £250 a month from 1,000 retailers, and offers those making purchases a “free 30-day trial”. However, do nothing at the end of the term and it automatically starts taking the monthly fee.
Both Complete Savings and Trainline say that its terms and £15-a-month charges are very clearly stated and that users have to input their bank or card details and agree to its terms when signing up.
Trainline said: “Once a customer has completed their transaction, they are offered the option to visit the Complete Savings website via a click-through banner on our website or app.
“If they choose to sign up, they are asked to manually complete the enrolment form on the Complete Savings site … it is 100% compliant with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and complies with consumer protection rules.”
However, if it is as clear as both companies claim, why are so many customers complaining that they – like you – feel duped into signing up to a service they didn’t want to pay for? Some people have complained about paying more than £500 to Complete Savings before spotting it. At least you were refunded in full.
One assumes that Trainline, and the other firms, receive a financial benefit, but at what cost to their brand? Others beware. If you see companies offering a 10% discount on future purchases, be very wary, and establish exactly to what you are signing up.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to terms and conditions
