Ever subscribed for a free steaming trial and ended up unwittingly paying for the service for months?
Ever subscribed for a free steaming trial and ended up unwittingly paying for the service for months? You’re far from alone.
A Bankrate survey of 2,497 U.S. adults found that 51 percent ended up with unwanted charges from a subscription or membership. A separate study by Chase bank found that the number is actually much higher — 71% percent of Americans waste over $50 a month on unwanted subscription fees.
It’s Easy To Forget About A Free Trial
These fees can come from anything from a video or music streaming service to a wine delivery club and online guitar classes.
Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for Consumer Action, said that the pandemic has pushed many to sign up for different programs and services online to liven up their day-to-day.
But as anyone who’s ever signed up for an online subscription knows, most such plans either automatically renew or fail to remind users of the end of the trial period.
“It’s no surprise that people are paying for things they don’t want or use,” Sherry said in a statement for the study.
Perhaps due to being more present online, younger people are slightly more likely to waste hard-earned cash on unneeded subscriptions. About 58% of millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) and 57% of Generation Zers (those born between 1997 and 2012) reported recent unexpected subscription charges.
It’s Not Just Young And Rich People
As the age group gets older, it is also less likely to incur unwanted charges although that number never falls below 43%.
Even though wealthy households are more likely to rack up costly subscriptions, the differences between income levels are small: 59% of households making more than $100,000 or more a year faced unexpected charges, while 49% of households making under $50,000 a year also faced them.
The most likely money-suckers came from memberships to places like Costco or your gym (31%), audio streaming services (23%), newspapers and other media (12%), gaming (12%) and food delivery plans (10%).
To avoid having charges add up, Bankrate recommends tracking all your subscriptions in a spreadsheet and setting up a calendar notification for the last day of a free trial.
If you’ve already been charged and notice it in the first few days, the provider’s customer service department may be able to cancel it for you.
“Unwanted subscription fees are a significant pain point for consumers,” industry analyst Ted Rossman said in a press statement. “[…] Some merchants surely aren’t following the rules properly, and in other cases consumers are overlooking the key details.”
