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Watch out for misleading adverts on Facebook promoting free samples of health products that lead to sneaky monthly payments of nearly £50. Facebook adverts promote free samples of health products but then shoppers find they have been charged for monthly subscriptions they didn’t recall signing up for. In one example a customer saw an advert advertising a free sample with a postage charge of £9.95. When the customer completed the transaction and paid the fee, they received an email stating that, after the 12 day free trial, the full price of £49.95 would be charged unless they returned the products within 12 days.
Which? Have received numerous complaints from shoppers about Bountynutrition and Nutranewera – and there are hundreds of reviews on Trustpilot with customers complaining of still being charged after cancelling the subscription, only partial refunds after they complained, and getting no response when contacting the companies.
What can you do?
If you’ve been signed up for a subscription you didn’t want, you have a 14-day cooling off period, which is extended to 12 months if you weren’t informed of your right to cancel.
If the company refuses to reimburse you and you didn’t authorise the payment, you can make a chargeback claim to your bank if you paid via debit card, or if you paid via credit card you can use Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act and ask your credit card company to disallow the payment and refund your account. You have 120 days from the date of purchase to make a chargeback claim, but there’s no time limit for a Section 75 claim.
One way to avoid being charged for things you don’t want – or increases in monthly payments you weren’t aware of – is to get a card like Revolut that won’t allow a payment if there are insufficient funds in the account to cover it. That way you can pay into your Revolut account just enough to cover payments when they are due – and if there’s an extra charge, or an increased charge, the payment won’t be allowed and you will be notified.
Before you buy, always check out companies online to see what other people are saying – these days, if someone has a problem – and the company does nothing to resolve it – then TrustPilot is an excellent way to complain – and it warns other people – so they don’t fall victim to the same scam.
It’s now much easier to report scams with this Which? Scam Sharer tool: You can report any kind of scam – online, email, text, phone, etc. here: Scam Sharer – free Which? tool
If you have been affected by a scam – help is out there – Victim Support has a free confidential helpline 0808 168 9111 and so does Mind 0300 123 3393.
Sign up for Which? Scam alerts: https://campaigns.which.co.uk/scam-alert-service/
Find details of recent scams here: www.actionfraud.police.uk and on our Facebook page: Rainford-it-stay safe online
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