Here at the SDC, we often talk about how important it is to keep a close eye on your finances and to make sure you're not being charged for services or products you no longer use or need.

Sadly, this can be easier said than done – especially if automatic payments are set up from your bank account or credit card.

This was the case for one unlucky Aussie woman who was still being charged regular monthly fees for five years without even realising it.

Lucy Medeiros cancelled her Foxtel subscription in June 2017 after opting to go for a bundle plan with her Telstra phone plan.

According to her, the original Foxtel line was closed and Telstra streamlined all her bills into one without any issue.

‘The package was quite attractive at the time… I was saving a bit of money and agreed to it.’ Medeiros said.

Two years later, in 2019, she entirely cancelled her Foxtel subscription through her Telstra bundle.

Medeiros found herself thousands of dollars in debt after a bungled subscription cancellation. Credit: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska

Fast forward three years, in 2022, and much to her shock, Medeiros found herself around $6000 in debt.

It wasn't until earlier this year when she checked her bank statement that she discovered continuous charges from Foxtel Management Pty North Ryde.

‘I was paying them both - Foxtel and Telstra - in one bill, unaware that I was also being charged monthly payments from Foxtel direct,’ Medeiros explained.

As anyone in her place would do, she called Foxtel and explained her issue.

Despite attempts on numerous occasions, she was told by customer service that her account had been closed and there were no direct debits found under her name.

It wasn't until after some time that Medeiros finally received a call from a Foxtel representative to explain what had occurred.

‘They found out that my credit card details were attached to another one of their customers' accounts,’ she said, pointing out that another subscriber got ‘five years of Foxtel for free’.

Of course, she should have been issued a refund immediately, right?

Not quite, because according to her, Foxtel then classified her case as fraudulent.

‘Even after they found out that there is indeed a problem (they) caused, they still don't want to know about it, (I was told) go and file the police report and… go and deal with (my) financial institution,’ Medeiros said.

Medeiros said she was told to file a report about her problem when Foxtel classified her case as fraud. Credit: Foxtel

She claimed she was also told that her credit card details somehow might have been compromised.

‘If indeed that happened, why aren't they using my credit card for something else? Why is it only Foxtel?’ She reasoned out.

‘I just want the credit card to be stopped and my money refunded back to my account.’

If you’re fuming right now, we understand. But, we have some good news — or as much of it as there is from such an infuriating story: Medeiros has been refunded her $6000 back and even been given additional money as compensation for her ordeal.

According to a statement obtained by Channel 9, Foxtel said: ‘After a detailed review, we believe there was an inadvertent error by the customer when they attempted to change their payment details using our interactive voice recording service in 2016.’

They also explained that Medeiros was made to file a formal complaint to authorities merely as part of standard operating procedures on fraud.

‘It is now clear this was incorrectly assessed and no fraud or identity theft was involved.’

‘We apologised for the inconvenience that had been caused and refunded the amount disputed in full… We have never had this issue before, and we are now reviewing the way this case was handled to ensure we take on board learnings.’

Key Takeaways

• Lucy Medeiros has been left close to $6000 out of pocket after being charged regular monthly fees by Foxtel despite cancelling her subscription five years ago.
• It wasn't until earlier this year when Medeiros checked her bank statement that she discovered ongoing charges from Foxtel Management Pty North Ryde.
• Medeiros was initially told to report her case to authorities when it got flagged by Foxtel as fraudulent.
• Medeiros and Foxtel have since settled the matter.

Thankfully, this wasn’t one of those stories that had no definite closure from customers left with the short end of the stick.

Still, if there was one lesson you could take from Medeiros’ story, it’s that you should regularly check your bank statements for any unwanted charges leeching away your hard-earned money.

Speaking of things to keep in mind, if you have time, check out this story of a mum scammed out of her kids’ $154,000 inheritance via email or this other story of a man who lost around $100,000 to fraudsters who posed as a car dealership.

So, what is your reaction to this story, member? Have you had similar experiences with service providers? How was your situation resolved — if it ever was?

Do you have other tips you could share so others may avoid problems like this?

Please share your comments and opinions below!

Source: YouTube/FairTradingQLD​

 

[terri]

Foxtel want to have everything their own way. Not only did they rip this poor person off but they made it hard for her to resolve the issue. Typical. I am glad so many streaming services are making foxtel shake, but that will never stop them from being a greedy corporation. I would never subscribe to them.

 

[Ricci]

I'm sorry but if you haven't really checked your bank statements for 5 years then you're almost asking to be taken for a ride, I do feel for her and am glad to hear she got her money back. I hope she has learnt something and keeps on top of her financial situation from now on. It's not as if we are not told constantly to be vigilant.

 

[mylittletibbies]

I would never deal with foxtel again.Their call centre is obviously overseas, and their operators are hard to understand, on one occasion I actually had to ask them to put on someone who could speak clear English.