9:35 am today

Kiwis losing millions on so-called 'subscription traps'

From Nine To Noon, 9:35 am today
Woman doing online shopping using her laptop and a credit card, hands close up, e-commerce and online banking concept

Some subscriptions are extremely hard to get out of. Photo: 123RF

If you've found yourself signed up to recurring payment you didn't know about - you're not alone. 

Westpac bank says New Zealanders are losing millions of dollars a year to so-called "subscription traps" ,

This is where a customer makes a one-off online purchase , but possibly hasn't read the fine print to see that they are actually signing up to a subscription , which allows regular payments to be debited from their credit card.

Westpac has been blocking such payments since April last year - with the bank's head of customer care operations Peter Barnes saying this has helped stop about $25m in unwanted charges. 

Sahar Lone is communications and campaigns manager at Consumer NZ