Signed up for what I believed was a free trial, which actually required a £9.99 upfront payment. The issue isn’t the trial fee — it’s that the annual subscription charge was not made clear or prominent at the point of sign-up, and no reminder was sent before the account converted to a paid annual subscription.When I contacted customer support immediately, a refund was flatly refused, with responses repeatedly pointing to “terms” rather than addressing the lack of clear disclosure or notice. This left me having to raise the issue with my bank instead.Overall, the experience felt misleading and inflexible, and customer service was unwilling to resolve a genuine dispute reasonably. I would strongly advise others to be extremely cautious and to read everything very carefully before entering card details.In reply:Thanks for replying.To clarify for anyone reading: I’m not disputing that terms exist. My issue is that the annual billing and renewal were not made sufficiently clear or prominent at the point of sign-up, and no reminder was provided before the subscription converted to an annual charge.The £9.99 payment was presented as part of starting the trial/free card, not as a clear indication of an imminent annual subscription. Once the charge was taken, I contacted support immediately and requested a refund, which was refused.The matter is now being reviewed through my bank’s dispute process, which assesses whether consent was informed and clearly obtained, not simply whether terms exist somewhere in the flow.I’ve shared my experience so others can make an informed decision and take extra care before signing up.This is V1ce’s business model1️⃣ Refunds are a business decision, not a fairness oneFor subscription businesses like v1ce: • They expect a high percentage of people not to use the service • The revenue model relies on trial → forget → annual charge • Refunding people who complain would: • Cost money • Increase refund expectations • Encourage more people to askSo the default policy is:“No refunds, point to the terms.”Support agents are usually not empowered to override this.⸻2️⃣ Digital services = “no marginal cost”From their perspective: • You could still use the service • There’s no physical product to return • They treat access as “delivered”, even if unusedSo they argue:“You’ve received what you paid for.”This is a commercial stance, not a legal conclusion.⸻3️⃣ They rely on contract technicalitiesThey know that: • Most people won’t challenge • Many banks won’t pursue chargebacks aggressively • Consumers often assume “terms = final”So they lean heavily on: • “You accepted the terms” • “No refunds per policy”Even when disclosure was weak.Reply 3:Thanks for the update.Just to clarify for anyone reading: I have no issue returning the card if that helps resolve this fairly. My intention was never to obtain something for free — it was to try the service and cancel when I realised it wasn’t for me.My concern remains that the annual subscription charge was not made clear or prominent at the point of sign-up, and no reminder was provided before the charge. When I contacted support immediately, I asked for a refund and was refused rather than being offered a return option.If returning the card allows this to be resolved reasonably, I’m happy to do so.Edit:Now they have refused a refund and since changed their website to include a yearly billing note in places it wasn’t before, when I signed up! Now they have also cancelled my whole subscription and kept the subscription fee! This is surely theft? I will be taking V1ce to a small claims court as this company needs to be shut down
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