Wildberries Charges Customer for Unwanted Subscription
A customer reported an unexpected debit for a Wildberries club subscription from his card.
Alexander from Chelyabinsk noticed that 199 rubles ($2 at current rates) were suddenly debited from his bank card for a Wildberries subscription. He says he had no intention of joining any club and did not enable anything. We look into what happened, whether you can disable an unnecessary service yourself, and whether it is realistic to get a refund for a paid subscription.
«Check your debits»
Like many Chelyabinsk residents, Alexander orders goods on Wildberries from time to time. On 20 September, he accidentally saw a message that 199 rubles ($2 at current rates) had been debited to the marketplace.
The transaction initially appeared to the user as a routine purchase on the platform.
«It was debited as a purchase, although I wasn’t ordering anything at that moment. I looked closely — the money went toward a subscription to “WB Club”. I went into my account — the subscription was active. Isn’t that theft? Because I didn’t sign anything, — Alexander fumed. — I naturally turned it off; I’m not interested in it at all. I also don’t recall taking out a trial subscription. I usually pay attention whenever something is offered — a subscription or a gift — whether I’ll then have to disable them manually.»
Later, he discovered the charge corresponded to the WB Club membership fee.
Just in case, Alexander decided to check all his payments on the marketplace. Perhaps 1 ruble ($0 at current rates) had been debited for a trial period and he had forgotten. The client says he reviewed a month’s worth of history but found no such transaction.
Customer support confirmed an active paid subscription had been enabled on the account.
He immediately wrote to support; they promised to look into it. But time passed and nothing moved forward.
«Hold on, hold on. Since Saturday there’s been no response from them. Nice, quietly tugging small sums from people. From one person — 199 rubles ($2 at current rates), from a thousand people — 199 thousand rubles ($2,000 at current rates), and so on. You could earn a new car or apartment in a day,» Alexander quipped.
That is why he decided to warn fellow residents and asked via the media: «Check your debits».
«Trial period expired»
The newsroom of 74.RU (74.RU) asked marketplace representatives to clarify how this could happen. Incidentally, while this piece was being prepared, Alexander received a notice that 199 rubles ($2 at current rates) would be returned to his card — the money should arrive within 10 days.
«The client used a complimentary trial subscription for 0 rubles ($0) and agreed to the promotion’s terms. After the trial period expired, the monthly fee was charged, — the press service of Wildberries & Russ said in response to a request from 74.RU. — The client contacted support to request a refund, and the operator forwarded the information to a supervisor for review. As a result, the subscription cost was returned to the client.»
The marketplace advertises a near-free trial before charging a higher monthly subscription fee.
Wildberries introduced the paid WB Club subscription for shoppers last year. Those who pay receive additional discounts, bonuses and special offers. You can enable the subscription in the app or on the marketplace’s website: the first 30 days cost 1 ruble ($0 at current rates), thereafter — 199 rubles ($2 at current rates) per month.
Activation of the WB Club subscription is possible only with the user’s explicit consent, and it can be disabled at any moment, the marketplace’s press service added.
«Activation is often opaque»
As practice shows, when a person finally realizes and disables an unnecessary subscription, it is impossible to get back the already debited two hundred rubles ($2 at current rates).
We asked lawyers whether it is realistically possible to prove that a person did not activate or enable anything and whether one can secure a refund for an imposed paid subscription.
«Unfortunately, activation of subscriptions is often opaque. A client goes in, ticks a couple of boxes to buy a product at a reduced price. It turns out that by doing so they also took out a subscription. Of course, that is an abuse by companies and an imposition of services, — explained Aleksei Golovchenko, managing partner of the ENSO legal firm. — This can be challenged and a refund demanded. If the company refuses, file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor). In that case, the situation will be reviewed with potential fines for the company.»
