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Dear Which,
I was placing an order online when I saw I could pay with a service called Moona and get £5 off.
Keen to save a bit of cash, I chose Moona and didn't think anything else of it. But a few weeks later, I noticed a payment of £29.99 was sent to Moona from my bank account.
Can you explain what I've signed up to and whether I can get this money back please?
Peter
Put to Rights
Hannah Downes, consumer rights expert at Which?, says:
It's always concerning when you see payments you don't recognise on your bank statement. In your case, Peter, when you chose to pay with Moona, you actually signed up to its subscription service which offers unlimited £5 discounts for certain online retailers for a monthly fee of £29.99.
But you're not alone in not realising what you'd signed up for - we looked at Moona's Trustpilot page and found others complaining of a similar experience to yours.
One disgruntled reviewer said: '[Moona has] been taking £29.99 out of my account for the last two months. I certainly did not sign up for this and there was no information informing me that this would be happening.'
We trialled the checkout process with a few of Moona's partnered retailers and found that, with each store we looked at, there was a box explaining that you'll be signing up to a seven-day free trial, followed by monthly payments of £29.99, before you pay. But some shoppers clearly feel that this information was not made clear enough when they were using the checkout.
Moona told us that 80% of its Trustpilot reviews are five stars and that consumers have to opt in for its subscription service. It said that during the free seven-day trial, customers receive multiple SMS and emails with direct links to unsubscribe from the website.
Customers can cancel their memberships at any time via email or through Moona's online cancellation service.
Peter has since complained to Moona and managed to cancel his subscription and secure a full refund.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, you do have rights to get out of the subscription - check your contract for how long the subscription lasts and how to cancel it.
You can also ask your bank to stop any future payments to the company. Bu be aware you could be chased for missing payments at a later date.
Need to know
- Online checkouts can feel chaotic, with many retailers offering a long list of payment methods - if you're unsure about a new payment option, it's worth reading the T&Cs.
- Your subscription contract must state how long it lasts for and how to cancel it if you don't want it renewed.
- If you notice payments for something you don't think you signed up for, contact your bank as soon as possible.
Get in touch. If you’ve got a consumer rights problem you need put right email us at yourstory@which.co.uk
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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/i-signed-up-to-an-online-subscription-without-realising-can-i-get-my-money-back-aDMv77M9C9M4