Headspace debited my account

CPTM

Hi all, I signed up to Headspace over a year ago, with a once off payment for a year long subscription.

Yesterday, I received an email from them saying "Thank you for your payment. Please see your account for order details."

I logged into the account and see that they've debited me €70 for another yearly subscription.

Do I have options here? I have no interest in the app, I haven't used it since last year, and I feel a little hard done by that a company took so much money from my account without giving me a chance to tell them not to.

LollipopJimmy

If it's google play then lodge an appeal with google. Same happened me with another app and I had the money back a couple of days later

CPTM

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

If it's google play then lodge an appeal with google. Same happened me with another app and I had the money back a couple of days later

Thank you LJ, do you know if I can do that via the Googleplay app? Or via an email address?

ACADasltiv

Same thing happened to me before. I'm with Apple so there was no hope of anything being done, good to hear it's different with Google.

CPTM

The other concern I have is which other companies think I want to pay for more than I initially paid for! Headspace's subscription doubled this year. What was stopping them from deciding that the service would cost 500 euro for the year and debiting my card to that effect? Can any company put in their small print "We may debit you any amount for this service in the future" and simply pass a transaction across my account?

LollipopJimmy

CPTM wrote: »

Thank you LJ, do you know if I can do that via the Googleplay app? Or via an email address?

I did it on a PC I think. I forget tbh but it was super easy to do and I had a response within the hour telling me a refund had been approved. I just googled it

Ten Pin

Assume it was a direct debit (DD) transaction? You can tell your bank to reverse it, this will probably prompt a response from Headspace so have your subsequent response ready.
AFAIK you need to be notified in advance of a direct debit, so even if their terms say they can debit your account beyond the initial transaction (last year), they need to let you know. That's how utility bills work, you get the bill in advance with the amount and debit date and that's debited afterwards.

Similarly, with a fixed price monthly DD, this would need to be communicated in advance, such as for broadband signup via phone or online, in all cases you know the amount and date in advance but Headspace didn't do either (date or amount notification), it was all after the fact and AFAIK, OTC, that's not allowed.

L1011

In the circumstances outlined it's almost certainly credit card and would be taken by the app store vendor who would kill your access if you did a chargeback.

If it wasn't an app store purchase, things are different

Ten Pin

From https://www.headspace.com/terms-and-conditions

(d) Our “Yearly” and “Two Year” subscriptions are paid for by an upfront one-off payment with automatic annual or two year renewals respectively. You acknowledge and agree that Headspace is authorized to charge the Payment Method used for (i) the initial annual or two year subscription fee at the rate secured at the time of purchase, and (ii) the renewal subscription fee(s) at the non-discounted rate in effect at the time of any such renewal. You must cancel your subscription before it renews in order to avoid billing of the renewal subscription fee to the Payment Method you provided. Refunds cannot be claimed for any partial subscription period.

If you purchase a subscription through the Google Play store, the sale is final and we will not provide a refund. Your purchase will be subject to Google’s applicable payment policy, which also may not provide for refunds.

Can't do any harm to ask for a refund but the terms aren't on your side unfortunately.

CPTM

Ten Pin wrote: »

Assume it was a direct debit (DD) transaction? You can tell your bank to reverse it, this will probably prompt a response from Headspace so have your subsequent response ready.
AFAIK you need to be notified in advance of a direct debit, so even if their terms say they can debit your account beyond the initial transaction (last year), they need to let you know. That's how utility bills work, you get the bill in advance with the amount and debit date and that's debited afterwards.

Similarly, with a fixed price monthly DD, this would need to be communicated in advance, such as for broadband signup via phone or online, in all cases you know the amount and date in advance but Headspace didn't do either (date or amount notification), it was all after the fact and AFAIK, OTC, that's not allowed.

Unfortunately it was a credit card and it was directly with the app as opposed to through Play store. I don't think I have a leg to stand on with the terms and conditions another poster outlined above. I still feel a little bit hard done by and I'm worried there's other things I've paid for which are going to debit my card in the future without me expecting it. I don't even have the app on my phone since February I think.

Does anyone know if the 14 day cooling off period applies to subscription renewals? It's a long shot I think...

Under His Eye

No cooling off period. Lesson learned for the future.

CPTM

Under His Eye wrote: »

No cooling off period. Lesson learned for the future.

Aye, I might as well use the app now! Thanks everyone!