Virgin Experience Day customers have been urged to check their bank accounts after claims that the firm "sneakily" signed shoppers up for subscriptions. MoneySavingExpert (MSE) found Virgin Experience Day added its £9.99-a-year 'Memory Makers+' membership to orders using a pre-ticked box at the checkout.
Memory Makers+ is Virgin Experience Day's loyalty programme, which rewards customers with discounts and other freebies, including delivery and greeting cards, with purchases.
Consumer Law Breach Reported
MSE said: "When visiting Virgin Experience Days on Friday October 30, we found that when adding an item to our online basket and going to pay, we were automatically opted in to 'Memory Makers+'."
"This isn't allowed under consumer law, so we've reported it to the regulator. If you've been caught out, you can claim a refund."
Official guidance bans businesses from using pre-ticked boxes or automatic opt-ins that force customers to pay for optional extras unless they actively opt out.
Previous Fines and Refund Advice
Last month, Appliances Direct was fined £1.2 million by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and ordered to refund around 420,000 customers £25 each for automatically enrolling them in paid add-ons.
MSE has urged customers to check their inboxes and junk folders for an "account activation" email sent right after purchase to see if Memory Makers+ was added to orders. To cancel or claim a refund, contact memorymakers@virginexperiencedays.co.uk. The firm says its "seven-day-a-week support" handles queries "within 24 hours".
MSE said the firm has since updated its website so the sign-up box isn't ticked by default.
Company Response and Subscription Impact
A Virgin Experience Days spokesperson told Express.co.uk: "Memory Makers+ remains a relatively new addition to our business, and we continually review and refine the programme based on customer feedback, performance data and regulatory developments."
"Our customers' best interests are at the heart of the scheme. The vast majority of our customers save more than the cost of a Memory Makers+ membership with their first purchase by joining, alongside a range of additional member perks and benefits."
"We regularly receive positive feedback from customers about the value Memory Makers+ offers. In the small number of cases where a customer wishes to cancel, we operate a seven-day-a-week support operation where queries are handled within 24 hours."
Citizen Advice's research published in 2024 found that consumers spent £688 million on unused subscriptions in a year. Of those who ended up with an accidental subscription, the most common reason was that it auto-renewed without their knowledge (40%). This is followed by people who took out a subscription for a free trial but forgot to cancel later (39%). Additionally, almost one in four (24%) people who have ended up with an accidental subscription thought they were making a one-off purchase.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to bring forward regulation to end "subscription traps," which make it difficult for people to cancel their subscriptions and in which contracts are automatically renewed at a higher cost. From January 2027, businesses will need to provide clearer up-front information, regular reminders and a much easier exit from contracts. A new 14-day cooling-off period will also allow consumers to cancel after a trial or a long-term contract renews.
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, welcomed the Government's plans to speed up action. She said: "At Citizens Advice, we've sounded the alarm on this for years, because we know subscription traps and sneaky online practices that hit consumers' pockets hard are a widespread problem. We previously found that over 13 million people (26% of UK adults) accidentally took out a subscription in a year."
"People shouldn't have to waste their time and effort avoiding dubious online tactics and fixing unwanted purchases and sign-ups."
