I got a £2,000 refund from click-to-claim cashback site Complete Savings after reading your story – here's how to check if you're due too

I got a £2,000 refund from Complete Savings – here's how to check if you're owed money too

A growing number of UK consumers are successfully reclaiming hundreds or even thousands of pounds from the Complete Savings subscription cashback scheme – and you could be one of them. Here is everything you need to know.

1. What's happening

Complete Savings is a subscription-based cashback service that charges members a monthly fee – typically around £15 – in exchange for cashback and discounts on online purchases. The problem is that many consumers say they were enrolled without clearly understanding they were signing up to a paid subscription.

The scheme typically works like this: a shopper makes a purchase with a partner retailer online and is shown an offer to claim cashback. By clicking to claim that cashback, some consumers have inadvertently agreed to a Complete Savings membership, triggering monthly charges that can go unnoticed for months or years.

Following coverage by MoneySavingExpert, readers have come forward to report successful refunds – with one consumer reclaiming £2,000 after years of unnoticed charges. The story has prompted many more people to check their bank statements and pursue their own claims.

2. What this means for household energy bills

At first glance, a cashback subscription scheme might seem unrelated to energy bills. But for UK households already stretched by the cost of living, every pound matters.

The average UK household is spending significantly more on energy than it was just a few years ago. Unexpected subscription charges quietly draining your bank account each month make it harder to keep on top of direct debits, including those for gas and electricity.

Reclaiming money from schemes like Complete Savings is a direct way to put cash back into your household budget. A refund of even £180 – equivalent to a year of £15 monthly charges – could cover a meaningful portion of a monthly energy bill. For those who have been charged for several years, the sums are considerably larger.

If you are struggling with energy costs, freeing up money from unwanted subscriptions is one of the most immediate steps you can take. You can also compare energy tariffs and check whether you are on the best available deal using Taupia.

3. Who is affected

You may be affected if:

• You shop online regularly and have made purchases through retailers that partner with Complete Savings. These include a wide range of well-known UK e-commerce and travel sites.
• You clicked on a cashback or discount offer at the checkout of an online retailer without realising it enrolled you in a subscription.
• You have noticed a recurring charge of around £15 per month on your bank or credit card statement from a company called Complete Savings, or a similar name.
• You have never actively used a Complete Savings account or claimed any cashback through the service.

The scheme has been running for a number of years, meaning some consumers may have been charged for a very long time without realising it. The longer the charges have been running, the larger the potential refund.

4. What you can do now

Here are the steps to take if you think you may have been charged by Complete Savings:

Step 1: Check your bank and card statements

Go back through your statements – ideally as far back as you can – and search for any recurring charges from Complete Savings. These are typically around £15 per month. Check all accounts and cards you use for online shopping.

Step 2: Contact Complete Savings directly

If you find charges you do not recognise or did not knowingly authorise, contact Complete Savings and request a full refund of all fees paid. Be clear that you were not aware you had signed up to a paid subscription and that you want all charges refunded.

Step 3: Raise a chargeback with your bank

If Complete Savings does not respond or refuses to refund you, contact your bank or card provider and ask to raise a chargeback. This is a formal process to reverse unauthorised or disputed payments. Your bank is obliged to investigate.

Step 4: Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which is a free and independent service for resolving disputes between consumers and financial businesses.

Step 5: Review all your subscriptions

Use this as an opportunity to audit all recurring charges on your accounts. Cancel anything you do not use or did not knowingly sign up for. This simple habit can save households a surprising amount of money each year.

The bottom line

Unwanted subscription charges are a hidden drain on household finances. If you have been caught out by Complete Savings, you have a strong basis to reclaim your money – and some consumers have already received thousands of pounds back. Take the time to check your statements now.

Once you have recovered any money owed, it is also worth making sure you are not overpaying on your energy bills. Use Taupia to compare tariffs and see whether switching could save you more.

Source: MoneySavingExpert