Ancestry.co.uk silently charging me

Kobb · 7 October 2019 at 11:32AM

In February I signed up for a 14 day free trial to Ancestry.co.uk. Unfortunately I forgot to cancel after the 14 days. Even worst I only just noticed (its now October) that they were charging me!

So all that's completely my fault and I hold myself responsible for that.

But my question is this: isn't there some sort of obligation on them to send you an email when your account goes from free to paid?

Because they have not sent me a single email since I signed up for the free trial.

If there is currently no obligation on the seller, then wouldn't that be a useful addition to UK Consumer Law?

DoaM · 7 October 2019 at 12:21PM

Short answer - no. As long as the T&Cs are clear, and not hidden away, and such terms are fair and balanced, then it's expected that both parties will abide by the T&Cs.

There is no obligation for the company to remind the consumer that a free period is ending (unless the T&Cs provide for this, which is unlikely).

How much of a Nanny State do we really want? What's happened to individual responsibility?

Kobb · 7 October 2019 at 1:20PM

Doam,

You asked: "What's happened to individual responsibility?
In my message I said: "So all that's completely my fault and I hold myself responsible for that."

You used the emotionally laden term "nanny state" by which I assume you mean a state that takes too much care over its citizens. I don't see how that's not a reason to enact legislation to protect the consumer.

There are plenty of ethical organisations out there, e.g. ones that send reminders of payments etc to consumers but Ancestry.co.uk aren't one of those. It would therefore be useful to have a bit of legislation to encourage such companies towards a kinder, more ethical relationship with their customers.

DoaM · 7 October 2019 at 2:15PM

The problem is that more regulation = more cost = higher prices to consumers. It also means that everything gets designed for the lowest common denominator; i.e. people with no ability (or desire) to self-regulate.

I'm all for making things clearer and preventing shady business practices, but where do we stop? What you've identified isn't a priority (IMHO).

DCFC79 · 7 October 2019 at 5:26PM

Just see it as a learning experience and move on from it, you made a mistake, no 1 is perfect. If it will help why not write down eg on a calender when to cancel ancestry sub by.

Kobb · 8 October 2019 at 9:02AM

Thanks for the suggestion. I do use Google Calendar a lot (I run my life with it) but on this occasion I forgot to put a note to cancel it. An easy mistake to make. I am definitely not perfect.

macman · 8 October 2019 at 3:39PM

An even easier way of avoiding this is to check your bank statements more often than every 8 months....

Davy_Jones_II · 8 October 2019 at 3:54PM

Kobb wrote: »

In February I signed up for a 14 day free trial to Ancestry.co.uk. Unfortunately I forgot to cancel after the 14 days. Even worst I only just noticed (its now October) that they were charging me!

So all that's completely my fault and I hold myself responsible for that.

But my question is this: isn't there some sort of obligation on them to send you an email when your account goes from free to paid?

Because they have not sent me a single email since I signed up for the free trial.

If there is currently no obligation on the seller, then wouldn't that be a useful addition to UK Consumer Law?

No, they told you the terms up front, there’s no need for them to tell you again.

They are providing the service that you signed up to, exactly in line with the terms that you accepted, so no need to write to tell you that everything is staying exactly as they had told you that it would.

Ancestry.co.uk silently charging me

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free