Claire Matthews: Massey University Banking Expert on the new subscription traps

Banks are sounding the alarm over a new kind of subscription trap.

Instead of a typical ‘forgot to cancel scenario’, businesses are instead selling goods and services that hook customers into reoccurring subscription payments.

Westpac says it’s stopped nearly 20,000 customers from being fleeced in the past three months, stopping more than $25 million in unwanted charges.

Massey University banking expert Claire Matthews told Mike Hosking that the problem with this type of situation is it’s difficult to cancel the subscription.

Some companies, she says, straight up disappear when people try to cancel, so it’s easier to stop the payment upfront.

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