The MoneySavingExpert (MSE) newsletter spotlighted three key checks that should be made to avoid wasting £100s on products and services you might have forgotten about
Organising the cupboards and dusting the shelves are perhaps what comes to mind when considering a spring clean. Yet, Martin Lewis has a different take on the annual ritual, as he encouraged Brits to declutter their bank accounts.
The 52-year-old spotlighted three key checks that should be made to avoid wasting £100s on products and services you might have forgotten about. This includes tidying up what direct debits you have listed, referring to potentially variable automatic payments from an account on a set date.
Broadband, water bills, mortgages, and energy costs are among the services these may encompass. According to BirminghamLive, the average Brit wastes over £30,000 in a lifetime on direct debits they never actually use.
So, checking what’s flying under the radar may prevent this from happening to you. “Beware passive transactions, where money is paid automatically, oozing out of our bank accounts without our conscious action,” Martin Lewis wrote in last week’s MoneySavingExpert (MSE) newsletter.
“While they’re often a valuable tool to avoid the nightmare of missing paying crucial bills, millions don’t check them often enough and are likely wasting £100s on products and services they no longer want or use.”
Next, MSE drew to standing orders – automatic fixed payments made regularly to a person or business. Family member payments and rent instalments are usually included in standing orders and should be listed alongside direct debits in an online banking account.
However, recurring payments are often trickier to spot. MSE explained that such transactions take place when you give a firm the long number on your credit or debit card.
That way, a company can accept variable payments when it wants. Magazine subscriptions, gym memberships, and streaming services often use these transactions. Although some banks have a ‘subscriptions’ or ‘scheduled payments’ menu in their apps where you can view these, this isn’t universal.
MSE, therefore, recommends going through your bank account and manually noting any repeat payments. After totalling the direct debits, standing orders, and recurring payments, you can decide whether to keep or lose them.
“Obviously if you’re paying for something pointless, ditch it, though always check you’re out of contract,” MSE added. Last year, the Government unveiled plans to crack down on ‘subscription traps’, which cost families around £1.6 billion a year.
The Department for Business and Trade defined subscription traps as ‘instances where consumers are frequently misled’ into signing up for a subscription through a free trial or slashed price offer.
If the consumer doesn’t cancel within a specific time window, they are sometimes automatically transferred to a costly subscription plan. Cancellation processes may also be incredibly inconvenient, perhaps involving phone lines with restrictive opening hours or long waiting times.
In November, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, said: “Our mission is to put more money back into people’s pockets and improve living standards across this country, tackling subscription traps that rip people’s earnings away is an important part of that.
“Everyone hates seeing money leave their account for a subscription they thought they’d cancelled, or a trial that unexpectedly gets extended.” His thoughts followed the Digital Market, Competition and Consumers Act which gained Royal Assent in May 2024.
This outlined new rules to ensure customers have clear information before signing up for a subscription and receive reminders about their ongoing subscriptions. Individuals should also have a 14-day period to cancel after a trial or long-term subscription auto-renews.