Angry "customers" accuse Portsmouth company Complete Savings of being “deceitful” after cash is debited from bank accounts - but firm denies any wrongdoing

Complete Savings has come under fire from outraged people who have used review site Trustpilot to warn others to “stay well clear” after believing they have been duped by the firm, based at Sentinel House, Airspeed Road. The company, in a statement to The News, has denied any wrongdoing to the claims alleged by individuals.

READ NOW: Rail firm hits back at Pompey chief

The city company, which has domains completesavings.co.uk and completesave.co.uk, describes itself as an “online savings programme ideal for those who shop online regularly”. The company encourages people to become a member by signing up before browsing popular retailers and making purchases online before getting “cashback directly to your bank account”.

The firm’s website says members “can claim ongoing rewards as well as discounted gift cards and 10 per cent cashback at over 1,000 online stores” before adding: “Complete Savings is free for 30 days and renews automatically for a monthly fee unless you cancel before the end of your trial.”

However, scores of people have been left fuming after saying they have never signed up to Complete Savings or even heard of the company before making the shocking discovery that money is being debited from their account.

One city resident told The News he was left “embarrassed” after only realising 11 years later that £15 a month was being taken from his bank account having previously gone “unnoticed” due to it being a small sum. But after being left out of pocket by nearly £2,000 the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he complained to Complete Savings before being told he had agreed to their terms and conditions.

He said: “I have no reason to think their core business is not legitimate but their method of boosting their membership attracts great concern. For example, when payment is made to such companies as National Express and Network Rail there is an option to make a saving on your next trip. Many people attracted by this offer follow this up but end up, unbeknown to them, purportedly becoming a member of Completesave.co.uk.

“This results in so-called members being charged a fee of £15 per month for a service they neither want nor need. For those that vigorously complain they often get the fees refunded but most are persuaded by the company that it is their fault, and they are embarrassed to contradict this.

“I paid them £15 for 11 years before I questioned the £15 being taken from my bank account. I view my account regarding overall totals and the small sum of £15 went unnoticed. Yes, I’m embarrassed that I let this happen.”

He added: “It is evident that many people fall for this as can be seen from the companies’ reviews. For many years the company has received such reviews which illustrate that people consider themselves the victim of a scam and have been deceived. I feel that the company should have altered their modus operandi to eliminate such problems.”

It is a common theme from seething customers prompting an equally common response from Complete Savings over similar claims of cash being taken without their knowledge.

On Trustpilot completesave.co.uk has around 1,650 reviews and is rated as “bad” with just one star out of a possible five.

One reviewer said: “I purchased rail tickets, then a few weeks later I saw a debit from my business account for £15. When I called they said that there would have been a banner on the host’s website which I must have clicked, filled in my details and set up an account. I didn't click a banner and would never sign up to anything like this, especially using a company debit card.”

Another posted: “Please refund my £15 that you took without my authorisation immediately.”

A third said: “They stole £15 from my 13 year old's account for services she never signed up for - she never received anything to say she had joined anything.”

Another person posted: “Like many others on this thread I suffered the same fate with being misled to sign up for a subscription service. I had £180 taken out of my account without ever authorising it. However, I called their customer service number and explained my situation to them that I had never used the service they said I signed up for and they gave me a full refund which I can confirm I received three days after I made the call.”

Another added: “Just showed up on bank statement, never signed up for this in any way shape or form. Would love to know how they got my details. Very angry.”

In a typical response to complaints on Trustpilot, the company said: “The only way you could have become a member and we could have received your details and authorisation to charge your account is that you manually entered your details into the signup form and agreed to the terms and conditions, which were made very clear on the signup form that there is a monthly membership fee after the trial. There is no way, in any way, that we will obtain your information without you or someone who completed and submitted the signup form.”

A statement from Complete Savings said: “Any member who has a question or a concern can contact us, and we will always try our best to find a resolution. If a member wishes to cancel their membership, they can do this at any time and using the method they prefer for simplicity and ease: for example, they can email or call our customer service team which is easy because we have an option which reads out a choice menu where the member can press a number to cancel.

"Alternatively, they can cancel by logging in to our website and cancelling online. Members can even cancel when they have not logged in via our virtual chatbot which handles cancellation requests immediately.”