$1 trial converts to €29.99 hidden recurring; refund refused despite own policy
On 3 May 2026 I purchased what was advertised as a $1 trial via Apple Pay. On 10 May 2026, after exactly 7 days, my card was charged €29.99 for a recurring subscription. The auto-renewal terms were not clearly and prominently disclosed at the point of purchase.
The service does not function as advertised. Despite an active paid subscription and available lookup credits, the search functionality does not execute lookups — the search button does not return results. I reproduced this on multiple queries and dates and recorded a screen capture demonstrating the defect.
I filed a refund request directly with their support team under Section 3.5 ("Technical Errors") of their own published Refund and Cancellation Policy, which states verbatim that "refunds for technical issues may be considered within 30 days of purchase, on a case-by-case basis" upon submission of device info, reproduction steps, and a screenshot or screen recording. I submitted all of these materials.
The merchant replied within approximately 60 seconds with a generic automated message that ignored Section 3.5 entirely and cited a generic non-refundability clause. I escalated, citing the policy text directly. A second reply arrived within approximately 120 seconds, again automated, again ignoring Section 3.5, again repeating the same non-refundability boilerplate. No case reference, no human reviewer signature, no acknowledgement that the screen recording was reviewed.
The merchant publishes a refund pathway they do not operationally honor, despite advertising 24/7 support. Reviews on the merchant's own domain are self-hosted and not independently verified.
I have filed a chargeback with my card issuer and submitted a complaint to Apple Pay regarding misuse of Apple Pay for misleading subscription practices.
Subscription cancelled 10 May 2026.
May 10, 2026
Unprompted review
