If you have a rarely used gym membership or still haven’t got round to cancelling your TV subscription, you are not alone.
It could be the gym membership seldom used or not getting around to cancelling an unwatched TV subscription.
Britons are typically wasting £123.40 per year on unused subscriptions, with auto-renewals given as the leading cause for unwanted contracts rolling year after year.
A study found nearly ten million out of 155million active subscriptions are considered unwanted, costing UK consumers a combined £1.6billion per year.
While 13million of us have ‘accidentally’ signed up to some form of paid-for membership in the past 12 months, wasting £688million on unused services.
The study by AI search engine website aiseo.co.uk found the most common reason for splurging hard-earned cash on services we don’t actually use was auto-renewal.
It found four in ten Britons fall foul of the payment method where customers’ contracts are automatically renewed when they expire unless the consumer specifically contacts the company to cancel.
The report shows almost as many Britons (39 per cent) have been left out of pocket after forgetting to cancel free trials.
Britons are typically wasting £123.40 per year on unused subscriptions, with auto-renewals given as the leading cause for unwanted contracts rolling year after year
Britons wasting £1.6billion on unused subscriptions such as Netflix or Amazon Prime
An AI SEO spokesman said: ‘Most people assume they are on top of their outgoings, but these figures show that small monthly charges slip through the cracks very easily.
‘A £10 streaming service here and a £7 app there can quietly add up to over £100 a year without anyone noticing.’
Researchers found Millennials were hardest hit with 29 to 44-year-olds most likely to be paying for services they do not use.
The report said: ‘Anyone concerned about hidden charges can start by checking their bank statements for recurring payments they no longer recognise.
‘Most banks now let customers view active direct debits and continuous payment authorities through their app.
‘Cancelling directly with the provider is usually the quickest route, though consumers can also ask their bank to block future payments if a company makes cancellation difficult.
‘With the Government’s proposed crackdown on subscription traps expected to introduce clearer cancellation rights, now is a good time to carry out a full subscription audit.’
