Internet Pickpockets: Are Reputable Companies Quietly Raiding Your Bank Account?

CONSUMER RIGHTS |

Internet Pickpockets Part 1

You check your bank statement one morning, coffee in hand, and there it is: a small, unremarkable charge. £4.99. Then another. £4.99 again. From a company you barely remember signing up with—or perhaps you never did at all. Welcome to the world of the internet pickpocket.

This behaviour is not the stuff of organised cybercrime. The reality is, arguably, something far more unsettling: well-known, publicly listed companies operating subscription models that are frustratingly difficult to cancel, near-impossible to query, and, in some cases, apparently charging for memberships that don’t even exist.

“Small, recurring payments are designed to fly under the radar. That’s not an accident.”

The Uber “One Member” Problem: A Personal Account

Let’s start with a real example. A review of a personal bank account recently revealed two charges from “UBER *ONE MEMBER” — each for £4.99, taken on consecutive billing cycles. Two payments. £9.98 gone.

The remarkable part is that when we contacted Uber directly, they confirmed that the account in question did not have an active Uber One membership.

So the obvious question is: how?

How is a company charging for a subscription it says does not exist? Was the subscription a free trial that silently converted to a paid plan? A linked account from a third-party service? A billing error? Or something else entirely? We do not yet have a satisfactory answer — and that, in itself, tells you something.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Payment Services Regulations 2017, you are entitled to dispute unauthorised transactions with your bank. Always act promptly — most banks require you to raise disputes within 13 months of the transaction date. I put a block on the payment, but my bank told me they couldn’t cancel it, and it is only blocked for 13 months until it is taken again. What a world?! Since I started to write this story and had to face the unpleasant task of speaking to the chatbots, it turns out that my daughter took out the membership using my card details, but she cannot recall ever doing it and ordered food using my app some time ago. Again, I cannot cancel it, as I don’t have an account.

The Anatomy of the Digital Drip

The “digital drip” is the term increasingly used to describe small, recurring charges that accumulate quietly across multiple services. Individually, they seem trivial. Collectively, they can amount to a surprisingly significant drain on your finances every month.

The business model typically works like this:

1. A free trial is offered, often requiring payment card details upfront.
2. The trial converts automatically to a paid subscription, often with minimal notification.
3. Cancellation is deliberately made difficult — buried in menus, requiring customer service contact, or routed through third-party platforms.
4. The charge is small enough that many people simply do not notice it for months.

This practice is not new. But the scale at which it now operates—through ride-hailing apps, streaming platforms, delivery services, software tools, and retail loyalty programs— is reaching a point where it warrants serious consumer and legal scrutiny.

Is It Legal?

This area is where it gets intriguing from a legal perspective. In the UK, several pieces of legislation bear directly on this issue:

• The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires that contract terms be transparent and fair. A term that automatically enrols a consumer in a paid subscription without sufficiently clear notice may be challenged as unfair.
• The Payment Services Regulations 2017 (implementing the EU’s PSD2, still retained in UK law post-Brexit) require that consumers consent to payment transactions. The payment service provider must promptly refund an unauthorised transaction.
• The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 introduced stronger rules around subscription traps, including requirements for clearer reminders before renewals and easier cancellation mechanisms.

The problem, of course, is enforcement. Individual charges of £4.99 are unlikely to attract the attention of the Competition and Markets Authority or Trading Standards unless complaints aggregate into a pattern. And that is precisely what companies appear to be banking on.

How to Fight Back: Practical Steps

If you believe you have been charged for something you did not authorise or for a subscription you have already cancelled, here’s what we recommend:

1. Document everything. Take screenshots of your bank statement, any correspondence with the company, and the cancellation or subscription page.
2. Contact the company in writing. Email is preferable to live chat because it creates a paper trail. State clearly that the transaction was unauthorised and request an immediate refund.
3. Raise a chargeback with your bank. Under the Payment Services Regulations, your bank is required to refund unauthorised transactions. Use the word “chargeback”—it has specific legal weight.
4. Cancel the card if necessary. If a company is taking recurring payments you cannot stop, ask your bank to block the merchant or issue a replacement card.
5. Report to the relevant authority. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Action Fraud, and your local Trading Standards office are all potential avenues depending on the nature of the issue.

You Are Not Alone — Share Your Experience

The above-mentioned Uber example is unlikely to be an isolated incident. The Uber example described above is unlikely to be isolated. Across social media, forums, and consumer complaint platforms, stories of unexpected subscription charges from major companies are remarkably common. Amazon Prime, Apple subscriptions, delivery app memberships, streaming services — the list goes on.

We would genuinely like to hear from you. Did a subscription you didn’t knowingly sign up for quietly pickpocket you? Have you found it impossible to cancel or get a refund? Have you had a similar experience with Uber or any other company?

Leave a comment below or get in touch with us directly. The more experiences we collect, the clearer the picture becomes— and the stronger the case for action.

Need Legal Advice?

If you have suffered financial losses as a result of unauthorised charges and need legal guidance, Lawdit Solicitors can help. Our team advises businesses and individuals on consumer rights, commercial disputes, and digital regulation. Visit www.lawdit.co.uk or email us to arrange a consultation.

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