MSE News: Shoppers lose millions on 'free beauty trials': How to get your money back

A question about : MSE News: Shoppers lose millions on 'free beauty trials': How to get your money back

RBS and NatWest customers have lost nearly Ј3 million in fees to 'free trial' health product sites...

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Shoppers lose millions on 'free beauty trials': How to get your money back

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• Stable door - horse bolted along with Ј3 million!
• The RBS news article regarding this can be viewed here:
  https://www.rbs.com/news/2015/februar...omers-out.html
• Who did the maths? Ј30k/day for more than 6 months is around about double the Ј2.9 million claimed lost.
• Isn't the title a bit misleading? It suggests that, for some reason, this is something that only affects certain bank customers, when in reality anyone can sign up for this trials.
• Weight loss pills! HA. There are two free pills you can take, exercise or healthy diet.
  Ironically, I would suspect that the "can't be bothered exercising" attitude may also apply to the reading of terms and conditions for some of these trials.
• This problem has been around for a while now and I'm shocked that it is still allowed to go on. The article is right in saying that the terms & conditions are not visible until you've signed up. Some people are 'lucky'in that a credit card company (not RBS) warn about unrecognised payments. Interestingly, the offer site was found through a link on the Moneysaving Expert site which featured on article on ways to earn cash for small jobs in your own home ........
• Santander Security helped me by recording that my debit card had been stolen and quickly issuing me with a new card and number. This stopped the recurring payment. However I was told that they couldn't cancel a payment in advance, only once it was taken. My advice is to speak to your Bank's security department.
• I have been working at a company where a lady Administrator (of about 60 years) was duped by Age Renew. She's a lovely lady, very honest & hard working. She didn't realise what was going on until she had lost a considerable amount of money - she used her visa debit card.
  After helping to stop the payments, I (as a retired Fraud Squad officer) eventually spoke with a rather 'snotty' [well-briefed] woman at Age Renew who fobbed me off with the contract small print, she even had the gall to suggest the lady was 'stupid for falling for it'.. obviously, NOTHING was refunded.
  The victim began to fret about the matter on the run up to Christmas, took ill, went on sick leave & in January she tendered her resignation. People like her just cannot comprehend how these things happen & the impact is immense. It may well be a civil matter but what Age Renew have done to that victim is a crime.
• A couple of years ago I sent for a free sample of anti-wrinkle cream. I thought nothing of it until I received two bottles. Then I checked my bank statements and found they had taken 4 payments of around Ј80.00 a time from my account. I immediately went to Nationwide and told them. They were fantastic and got all my money back. Thanks Nationwide.
• I am a fit and alert 60-year-old, who signed up for a free trial, but handed over my card details to pay a nominal sum for postage. Having ticked the "I agree" box, a hunch told me to check the fine print.
  And there it was, effectively buried .. I had signed up for more stuff to be sent to me at a cost of Ј80 / month.
  I was lucky enough to have signed up with a semi-legitimate outfit, who actually had polite ladies answering phones, who noted my concern, and stopped the payments before they could take effect.
  It is not only old ladies who are caught out.
• My credit card account was hit by 6 payments all to 'different' companies in the space of 3 weeks last September. The credit card company, Capital One, picked this up before I did, refunded the account in full, and kept me informed of the steps they would take to recover the money and the timescale involved.
  I do not know what legal obligation they were under (each payment was just under Ј100!) but their prompt and considerate actions certainly saved my wife and myself (both in our 70's) much worry and self-recrimination. This was an example of Customer Service at its best.
• Apart from the list on this Forum, beware Alore and Lorelia facial products. I too thought it was a good offer - only 3.95 p&p for 2 full sized bottles. Then I noticed over 80.00 for each one had been taken out of my bank account. I spoke with a manager of the company in America who flatly refused to refund my money.
  After much wailing and wringing of hands, eventually Nationwide re-imbursed me, but there are thousands who got caught to their cost.
  This certainly taught me a lesson - I never pay for anything now without thorough checks.