A consumer watchdog has issued a warning to people who search for loans online. UK borrowers are being signed up to paid-for subscriptions on sites they’ve never heard of or signed up to.
Which? believes some customers are unwittingly paying £29.95 a month for these subscriptions. It’s thought they may have inadvertently opted into a service without realising the full consequences.
Which? said people had been asked to approve a charge of 12p or 14p to “verify” their bank account when using a loan broker website, Birmingham Live reports. There are a total of 13 different “savings” sites which boast of offering daily discount codes to users and subscribers.
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But the watchdog is now investigating complaints after users said they had never heard of the websites in question. In a statement, Which? said: “It’s likely that some were signed up after inadvertently ‘opting in’ to a service, perhaps by ticking a box or failing to untick one when searching for a loan.”
People were also quick to voice their concerns online. One reviewer on Trustpilot stated: “I’ve tried logging into the website but it appears I don’t have an account with them.”
A second person warned: “I have never heard of this savings website. I applied for a loan and apparently opted into your services and money was taken from my bank account.”
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Which received reports of 13 different ‘savings’ sites appearing on bank statements, including Brighter Savings, Cash Saving and Go Saving, as well as Monster Savings, Onsavings, Perfect Savings and Savers Club. Other reports included Saving Star, Scope Savings, Sunny Savings, Savingshield, Total Saver and Walletsaver.
Which? is urging anybody affected to contact their bank to stop any future payments. It said: “To request reimbursement for an unauthorised transaction, notify your bank as soon as possible. You can do this by calling the number on the back of your card or by disputing the transaction on your banking app.”
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