Dosh dilemma – Sally’s undelivered dog collar came with a surprise subscription

Sally wanted to find the perfect collar for her chiwawa’s Instagram debut. Scrolling through the internet, she found it – a violet and teal Harris tweed beauty.

At £24.99 with free shipping, what could go wrong? So she ordered it. Then waited and waited.

Three weeks later, and still no dog collar, but Sophie did get an email welcoming her to the dog accessories premier club.

Confused, she opened her bank app and found an £89 charge for something called ‘elite pet wear’.

What had happened?

Sally’s experience is a classic example of a ‘subscription trap’, where you’re signed up to costly ongoing payments through hidden terms in the checkout process.

Usually, it’s buried in tiny print or disguised as a ‘free trial’.

What should Sally do?

Here’s what anyone in her situation should do:

Cancel the subscription immediately

• go to the website (or app) where you made the purchase
• look for a ‘cancel subscription’ or ‘manage account’ section
• if you can’t find it, email or call the company and keep proof of all correspondence

Contact your bank or card provider

Under the Consumer Credit Act (Section 75) (for credit cards) or Chargeback rules (for debit cards), your bank may be able to help recover the money if:

• you didn’t authorise the payment
• the product never arrived
• also ask them to block future payments to that seller

Check the small print

• You should revisit your confirmation email or receipt. See if there was any mention of a subscription or ‘free trial’ turning into a paid plan.
• If it wasn’t clearly stated, you may be entitled to a full refund under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (2013).

Report the company

• If the website was misleading or lacked transparency, report it to:
• Citizens Advice
• National Trading Standards
• Action Fraud if you suspect it's a scam

What are Sally’s rights?

• Right to a refund: under UK consumer law, goods must be delivered within 30 days, or the seller must offer a refund.
• Right to cancel: online purchases can be cancelled within 14 days of receiving the goods and if nothing arrives, the 14-day cancellation period doesn’t even begin.
• Right to transparency: it’s illegal for sellers to hide subscription terms or make it unreasonably difficult to cancel.

We hope this helps Sally and you manage to sort it out.