Scamscriptions: how to stop a dodgy recurring payment

Dear Which?,

I recently noticed a recurring payment of £40 to a company called scentnice.com for goods I never ordered and never received. 

I phoned my bank and cancelled the subscription, but I don’t know how I signed up for this and how they got my card details. 

I’ve lost more than £300 and NatWest says it won’t refund me. Why would a 75-year-old man subscribe to a perfume website? I think it will be a waste of time trying to recoup my loss.

Matt M, Wishaw, Scotland

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Scam subscriptions

Chiara Cavaglieri, Which? senior researcher, says: 'Unauthorised subscriptions are one of the most common complaints reported to our Scam Sharer tool at the moment.

'We couldn’t get to the bottom of how scentnice.com had your card details, but in most cases, rogue subscriptions are linked to misleading adverts found online. We often find that victims assume they’re giving their card details to legitimate companies and then later find they’re paying money to unrecognised companies every month. 

'You tried to get your money back from scentnice.com, which is based in Limassol in Cyprus, but it refused. We spoke to NatWest on your behalf, sharing our insight into the tactics used by rogue subscription companies. 

'These can be tricky cases for banks to investigate because payments appear to be fully authorised. However, we expect them to take complaints about unauthorised payments seriously and at the very least you should be helped with a chargeback or Section 75 claim. 

'NatWest told us that scentnice.com took its first payment of £3 in December 2023 and then a recurring monthly payment of £40. Having reviewed its initial decision, it agreed to refund you in full.' 

NatWest said: ‘We have fully compensated our customer for their loss. We advise all our customers to be extra vigilant when making online purchases, especially when dealing with a retailer for the first time who might offer a subscription service. It's crucial to carefully review the terms and conditions to ensure you're not inadvertently agreeing to a recurring payment.’

We also contacted scentnice.com, asking it to share evidence that you willingly signed up for a subscription and explain why you had never received any goods. It didn’t respond, so we’ve reported it to the National Cyber Security Centre and Trading Standards.