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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Sarah Marsh Consumer affairs correspondent

Spending on accidental subscriptions has doubled in a year in UK

a picture of some typing on a laptop keyboard
Unused subscriptions cost consumers £688m last year, Citizens Advice said, up from £306m at the end of 2022. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

The amount consumers spent on accidental subscriptions that are easy to get into but hard to cancel has doubled in a year, Citizens Advice has warned, with customers shelling out millions.

Research for the charity found that more than 13 million people (26% of UK adults) have accidentally taken out a subscription in the past 12 months. These covered services from fitness apps to food delivery services and pet food.

Consumers thought they were buying a one-off product or service, or signing up to a free trial, but were in fact being enrolled into a continuing payment.

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