Complete savings refund

adogwithabone1

Complete savings have been taking £15-£18 direct debit from my account for few years sadly I only realised this year, I cannot explain how I have never noticed it before as someone who regularly checks my accounts. I called my bank to ask what or who they were . The bank gave me Thier number and I arranged the bank immediately cancelled the direct debit and refund all the payments. They only refunded one month but did cancel the direct debit. I then called complete savings ask why and how they were charging my account they informed me I had signed up with them online when making a purchase with plumbase, I have no idea how this happened and explained to them I have no knowledge of doing this and they could clearly see I had never used this account they were telling me i had opened. It seems when I was making a purchase a box poos up offering discount which they take a a membership to a monthly direct debit. As far as I can remember or imagine is I would have thought it was plumbase offering me a discount by signing up for a newsletter. Which is no uncommon. At this point I demanded a full refund for this very dodgy practice . They refused offered me two months refund I refused demanded to speak to management, they put me onto a supervisor who tried to get me to take two months refund, which I refuse again demanded full refund she then immediately refunded 11 months of direct debit claiming they were given me 12 but th3 bank had already cancelled 1 months. I also made sure they cancelled the account to email me to confirm that, and ask to speak to management as she was unable to issues anymore refund only they could. I continue to call them daily chasing my refund for about 2 weeks. I then did some research online and sii this site had some advice. Email them would be more helpful. So I emailed them stressing I felt a fraudulent subscription I had no knowledge I also had no knowledge of receiving any emails or contact from them, I had never used the account so a full refund should be refunded. They kept telling me they had emailed me but I can honestly say I have no knowledge or memory of anything from them I know I would have cancelled this subscription long ago if I had. They kept refusing to refund me, I just continue emailing then informing them I will take this to the ombudsman . Finally I had no choice unfortunately the ombudsman informed me due to some legal problems they could not help.

So I emailed complete savings again this time stressing my financial burden this has on me and I will take further legal advice as below, they the agreed a full refund.

I am not sure if it was the financial burden that changed Thier minds or if my bank could charge back. But what has proved helpful is not giving up. No matter how many times they say no email them again and again, calling too to chase up response.

Ombudsman Service (or relevant consumer protection bodies) and my bank's fraud/chargeback department.I look forward to your prompt response and confirmation of my refund.

MasterG83

*I have re posted this in an easier to read format.

Complete Savings had been taking a monthly direct debit of between £15 and £18 from my bank account for several years. Unfortunately, I only discovered this recently. I still cannot explain how I never noticed it before, especially as I regularly check my accounts.

When I noticed the payments, I contacted my bank to find out who Complete Savings were. The bank provided me with their contact details, cancelled the direct debit immediately, and refunded one month's payment.

I then contacted Complete Savings and asked why they had been charging my account. They informed me that I had signed up online when making a purchase through Plumbase. I explained that I had no knowledge of ever signing up and that they could clearly see I had never used the account they claimed I had opened.

From my understanding, a discount offer had appeared during the checkout process. As far as I can remember, I believed it was simply a Plumbase promotion or newsletter sign-up, which is a common practice. I had no idea it would result in a paid monthly membership.

I considered this to be a very misleading practice and demanded a full refund. Initially, Complete Savings refused and offered only two months' worth of refunds. I rejected this offer and asked to speak with a manager.

I was transferred to a supervisor, who again offered only two months' refund. I refused and continued to insist on a full refund. The supervisor then immediately refunded 11 months of payments, explaining that this, together with the one month already refunded by my bank, amounted to 12 months in total.

I also ensured that the account was cancelled and requested written confirmation by email. As the supervisor stated she was unable to authorise any further refunds, I asked to speak with management.

Over the following two weeks, I called Complete Savings daily to continue pursuing my claim. During this time, I researched similar cases online and found several suggestions that communicating by email was often more effective.

I therefore emailed Complete Savings, explaining that I believed this was effectively a subscription I had no knowledge of. I also stated that I had no recollection of receiving emails or any other communication from them. They repeatedly claimed they had contacted me, but I can honestly say I have no memory of receiving anything from them. Had I known about the membership, I would have cancelled it immediately.

Despite this, they continued to refuse a full refund. I persisted, repeatedly explaining my position and advising them that I intended to take the matter further, including seeking assistance from the Ombudsman.

Unfortunately, when I approached the Ombudsman, I was informed that they were unable to assist due to legal or jurisdictional limitations.

I then contacted Complete Savings again, this time explaining the financial hardship these payments had caused and informing them that I would seek further legal advice and explore options through consumer protection organisations and my bank's fraud or chargeback department.

Shortly afterwards, Complete Savings agreed to provide a full refund.

I cannot say for certain whether it was the financial hardship argument, the possibility of further legal action, or the risk of a chargeback that changed their position. However, my advice to anyone in a similar situation is simple: do not give up. If your initial request is rejected, continue to challenge the decision. Follow up by email, call regularly for updates, and remain persistent. In my case, persistence ultimately resulted in a full refund.

Woodstok2000

I am struggling to understand the above, but I'm very happy for you. Or sorry that his hasn't worked out.

SiliconChip

As this is either a vent or a warning (I'm unclear which the OP intended) I've asked for it to be merged with the existing Complete Savings thread on the Praise, Vent and Warnings board.

flaneurs_lobster

Any chance that this thread can be merged with (one of) the existing Complete Savings threads?

You know the one, where many people claim that you must be a blind imbecile to have accidently signed up for this excellent product.

EarthBoy

You say you regularly check your statements, but that's clearly untrue, so I'm struggling to believe any of the rest of your post.

Rich1976

so you signed up to something which you didn’t know about, didn’t notice a direct debit had been set up on your account or that several years worth of payments have been taken without your knowledge.

Yet you claim to keep an eye on your bank account and now demanding the company refund you for all those payments

Absolutely ridiculous.

flaneurs_lobster

Couple of references in the thread now (OP and other) to Complete Savings setting up a Direct Debit.

Has this changed, thought they relied on the far more devious Continuous Payment Authority?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82163893#Comment_82163893

You'd think so so, wouldn't you. Here's a story on MSE that suggests that it's not "Absolutely ridiculous".

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2026/04/complete-savings-success/