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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

aibu - inertial selling scam - fabletics?

39 replies

rytonsister · 19/01/2019 16:13

ive been had.

a quick google shows im not the only one however. i saw an ad on facebook and followed it to purchase some gym wear. however its a subscription that to opt out of you have to weave through some shite and basically say " save £50% of this purchase? of course i dont want to save money" to bypass it. it hooks you in with a money saving offer but does not make it clear you are then going to part with £44.00 a month thereafter whether you purchase or not.

it essentially "sells" you a "credit" each month you dont purchase more gym gear and ive only just realised having paid 3 months into this thing.

it also says there is no obligation to purchase in the T&C so i dont understand how they can then just keep taking £44 anyway?

ive probably been thick but feel completely duped and they wont refund me the £132.00 they have of mine.

ive rung the bank and theyve now made sure they cant take more money but it doesnt help me get the £132.00 back!

im pissed off! it seems like a scam. aibu or really thick?

(i know it says its a subscription on the telly ad but i didnt see the telly ad...)

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 19/01/2019 16:16

I think you're supposed to go in and opt out of payment each month if you don't want to buy anything. Does anyone really buy gym outfits every month?!

It's a bit shit they won't refund you - are they debit card payments?

dementedpixie · 19/01/2019 16:16

Just fab is the same too I think

Bombardier25966 · 19/01/2019 16:23

I've just done a dummy run and it tells you three times before payment that you're signing up to a subscription service, and that's in the main bit of the screen, not small print.

It's unfortunate but it is very clear what the "VIP" deal is.

Original poster
rytonsister · 19/01/2019 16:24

yes debit card - as far as i am concerned unauthorised.

it says no option to buy but then forces the sale of a "credit" effectively costing £44. (completely contradicting their own T&C )

the whole practice is dubious at best and the tactics they use are illegal according to the ASA but ive emailed them pointing this out and had a shit standard reply.

im so pissed off. i need that money back and they are saying i can spend it on the site but cant have it back - plus now im not a "vip" member anymore (read conned out of £44 a month) the prices are extortionate anyway and i dont bloody need or want any more gym wear!

fucked off. Angry
how do they get away with it?

my bank have said refer it to trading standards and the retail ombudsman. worth a try i suppose.

OP posts:
Original poster
rytonsister · 19/01/2019 16:27

think it didnt help i was on a small screen (phone) to make purchases.

still dont think it makes it clear how to avoid the charges or opt out. clearly my own fault but i do think its misleading. i think if id been on desktop id have seen it and read more about it - i just thought i was making a purchase from a shop. old gimmer and this is why i dont usually use my phone! ggrrrr....

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 19/01/2019 16:29

This is on the home page

aibu - inertial selling scam - fabletics?
Bombardier25966 · 19/01/2019 16:31

If you can't read something then you zoom in. Although all the information is the same size as where you enter your details, so not sure how it could be missed.

You avoid the charges by either paying the full prices or buying elsewhere. You were suckered in by a cheap price and ignored the terms and conditions.

The ASA did uphold complaints about how Fabletics used to advertise, which is why the information is so much clearer now.

Plantkween · 19/01/2019 16:34

Just had a look on the mobile website and I have to say that I think they make it quite obvious what you're signing up for, both on the homepage and under the 'how it works' section. I had a friend who did something similar on one of these sites and theres definitely no getting your money back unfortunately

Pk37 · 19/01/2019 16:34

It does make it clear and you get an email every month to remind you .
Ifyou want the discount you join the subscription club ,if you don’t then yiu don’t have to sign up and you can pay the full price ..OR you can sign up to vip, order whatever you want with the discount and then phone them or use the online chat to leave the subscription service

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 19/01/2019 16:34

Is their business model similar to the old Britannia Music Club, where they would automatically send you their 'recommendation' for the month unless you specifically told them that you didn't want it (having to pay postage to return the 'No thanks' card as pre-internet days)?

It was an annoying sales method then and it sounds just as bad now - worse, probably, as at least BMC did send you something that you most probably didn't want rather than just taking your money whether or not you order.

Their choice of how to run a business, as long as they make the rip-off business model crystal clear, but I couldn't be done with it at all - I just want to choose something to buy, order and pay for it and then get on with my life until I choose to order something else (if, indeed, I ever do).

Original poster
rytonsister · 19/01/2019 16:37

Well I'm certainly not the only one who feels duped . A quick google proves that.

I didn't understand that they take money anyway even if you don't purchase.

Surely that goes against their own t&c though where it says there is no obligation to buy?

Cos there is - you pay regardless! You get a credit for 44£. - is that not a purchase? One that's forced on you?

I know ultimately that I should have read more into it but the fact that a fair few people have down the same means it's clearly a tactic.

OP posts:
Bombardier25966 · 19/01/2019 16:42

Of course it is a tactic, it's why many of us would not buy from them. But you chose to ignore the clear information and take out a subscription.

You can skip months if you tell them, equally you could have cancelled at any time.

The people that have been duped have failed to read what they were signing up to.

LegoPiecesEverywhere · 19/01/2019 16:45

Yanbu. This is the actress Kate Hudson’s company. I hate companies with that business model. Yes it may state that you are locked in somewhere but IMO it is designed to dupe the customer.

Funkyfunkybeat12 · 19/01/2019 16:51

You beat them at their own game.

Have ordered three times from Fabletics via three different email addresses. You pay via paypal. You then go onto paypal settings and remove the monthly payment to them from the list. Bingo- they can no longer take your money. I presume the accounts just lapse- I have never had any trouble from it and I did this 4 years ago.

Warning though- their gym gear isn't that great. I would never pay full price for it.

Original poster
rytonsister · 19/01/2019 17:12

I don't know why but I honestly don't recall seeing how it worked when I ordered. ( October last year so they've taken payments in November December and now January. I'm not usually remiss where money is concerned so really don't know how I missed it .

Now to get the £132 worth of stuff I'm going to have to pay full price cos I was so outraged I cancelled there and then .

I'm annoyed with myself but it all seems so underhanded to just take money - I dont even think I've had more than 2 emails from them either in that time and one of those was to confirm cancellation.

OP posts:
NotANotMan · 19/01/2019 17:17

Do you not check your bank statements online?

Bombardier25966 · 19/01/2019 17:19

They send you a recommendation by email each month.

Guineapiglet345 · 19/01/2019 17:21

It’s very clear when you’re buying from them that it’s a subscription, I bought something then immediately cancelled the subscription and then a couple of months later when I wanted something else I signed up again, I like the stuff I got but I don’t know who would be buying a new gym outfit every month unless you worked in one?

Original poster
rytonsister · 19/01/2019 17:31

I normally do check statements online but I got locked out of my account and I've only just realised today when I saw a pending transaction for 44£. to fabletics and thought eh?

Very remiss if me and I am sure it is my own stupid fault but I genuinely had no idea it was a subscription. I could kick myself. £132 is a lot of money to me ☹️

OP posts:
WhatASmashingBlouse · 19/01/2019 17:33

The same happens to me with Fabletics a few years ago. I noticed payments on my bank statement but it didn't say fabletics. I went through PayPal and got it all refunded. Things might have changed more recently though. I know at the time there was a big hoo har because it wasn't made clear at all that it was a subscription service.

Pachyderm1 · 19/01/2019 17:34

It’s not technically a scam but I don’t think they are as upfront as they should be.

You can still buy the product without subscribing but it is more expensive.

You need to cancel your fabletics account, if you haven’t already.

I would cash your credits and maybe try and sell the stuff online? You won’t get all your money back but it would be better than nothing! Or buy stuff for yourself. The quality is good, if nothing else.

Pachyderm1 · 19/01/2019 17:36

Sorry, misunderstood your update. I think you can still cash in your credits even after cancelling - have you checked this for sure?

StowawayJo · 19/01/2019 17:37

Same as Netflix etc you pay 9.99 per month. If you don't watch anything on Netflix and then don't check your bank statement that's hardly their fault. You'll have to suck it up. You need to actually read stuff properly before putting in card details onto a site otherwise next time it will be something actually dodgy.

DarienGap · 19/01/2019 17:45

Dubious sales tactics from Fabletics.

I'd forgotten all about Britannia Music Club.
I was suckered in by the opening offer of 5 tapes for 99p each!

Summerisdone · 19/01/2019 17:48

Between the 1st and 4th if every month make sure you log into your account and choose the 'skip this month' option and it won't then take any money from your card... I've been doing this for nearly two years now 🤦🏻‍♀️ but at least I'm not paying the ridiculous subscription cost each month.
I did try to get out of the subscription after I first realised it was a subscription, but it involved making calls to a premium rate number back then and tbh I've not bothered looking since, I just have seen there's still not an opt out option on the website, which tbh I think is all it should take.