Recently I saw an advertisement for Just Fab saying that I could get my first ‘style’ for £9. Thinking that this seemed like a perfect opportunity to get a new pair of shoes for my summer holiday I quickly went on their website, did their short ‘Style Quiz’, and picked out a gorgeous pair of heeled brown sandals. Like most people do, I clicked that “I have read the Terms & Conditions and consent to the Privacy Policy” without actually reading anything. This is where I made my mistake.
The Just Fab Scam
A few days later when the shoes arrived I was very pleased with them; they looked a lot better on than they had in the pictures, fitted me well and were very comfy and easy to walk in. It was the letter that came with the shoes that I was shocked and upset about. It told me that as I was now a VIP member I would be charged £35 a month so that I could get new ‘styles’ every month from them. I had no idea that I had been signing up for this direct debit, so I went back and checked. In the terms and conditions Just Fab does a brief summary so you don’t have to read the full thing, and it tells you quite plainly that you will be signing up to pay £35 a month to stay a VIP member with them. I think they are very aware though that most people never read the terms and conditions, especially to just buy a cheap pair of shoes. I was also pretty fortunate to read the leaflets that came with my online order as I usually don’t and would have missed the Just Fab scam.
I received my shoes and letter on the 2nd July and was told I had until the 5th to take action or I would be charged the £35. Nowhere on the letter did it tell me how I could cancel or where to ring if I wanted to cancel, on the bottom it did say I could ring a number if I wanted to talk about fashion (check, that is what it really says). When I rang this I was easily able to get through to someone – who tried to persuade me not to cancel and even seemed to try to distract me from cancelling by asking me questions about myself. However I was able to cancel with them and was thankfully no money was taken (the number is 0844 770 2323 if you do are caught in the Just Fab Scam and wish to cancel, but this number will charge you between 2 – 40p to call).
Overall I was very happy with the shoes, but not with the sly way they had gone about making me a VIP member. There are so many complaints about the Just Fab scam online and I am surprised what they are doing is legal or hasn’t been stopped. Being a company that is now seen advertised on TV I was very trusting of them as a reliable online shop but I will never purchase from them again and hope to have helped bring awareness to some of you who may have fallen into their trap. I know I am lucky with this outcome as I would have been charged an extra £35 if I had been on holiday when my shoes were delivered!
That’s terrible. They know that most people don’t read the terms and conditions. All they needed to do next to the tick box is say “I’ve read the terms and conditions and am aware that I’m signing up to be a VIP member at a cost of £35 per month.” That’s it.
I wonder if they are run by the same people as Fabletics, they’re just as bad. You see so many bad reviews about people not realising they’re signing up to a monthly thing, and then they make it so hard to cancel.
I think the opposite, I’ve only ever seen Just Fab as a subscription service & have never signed up to it because I know it’s a rolling contract. I think though, these offers they do are a bit deceptive and for people who see shoes and go for them like I do, it can catch them out.
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prettymadthings.blogspot.co.uk // xo
There’s more than a few scams like this. I got caught up in the ‘free samples’ one. It was horrible. They send you a sample, while literally on the first page it tells you that there’s NO catch, you only pay postage. Got my sample, then two weeks later i was charged upwards of $2000 on my credit card. OMG I was irate! And I almost cried, because I had just gotten it paid down. And I read the terms. (Though who can fault you for not reading. We’re not lawyers!). But I skimmed through obviously. And it was hidden in a paragragh at the bottom of 10 pages. You get charged for the products if you don’t cancel within a week. It’s a nasty trick.I agree, it SHOULD be ILLEGAL!! Thankfully, my credit card refunded the charges!
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Thats awful, glad you got the money refunded!
Uhm… we have credit card limits over here and you set it every time you buy something, and the bank blocks everything else…
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It was set up to auto take it from PayPal
Something very similar happened to me with amazon and audible. I wanted the “one free book” youtubers advertise and due to amazon having my credit card information from a previous purchase, I started to get charged the $10 every month even though I didn’t continue to use the service after the first book. Due to it being quite a small amount I never really noticed it going missing until I had to analyse my bank statements for something and found all of these monthly amazon charges. It was very difficult for me to get out of, as well.
The only time I have seen subscriptions with a catch like this done right is Spotify, who remind you very blatantly that you will need to remove your card information if you no longer wish to subscribe to premium after the free trial.
nueyork.blogspot.com
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Its so sneeky, as this was set to come out of my paypal I might not have noticed for a while so I’m glad I read the info sheet
At least you caught it quick, I’m surprised it’s legal!
I skip a lot. And I have a reminder on my calendar to skip one time i did indeed forget and got charged. To cancel you have to call in,which sucks. I wish there was a way to just do it on your profile page on the site. Overall, I have been pretty satisfied with them.
Argh these sort of things drive me up the wall – but considering it is in the terms and conditions I think it’s a little unfair to call it a scam? Regardless, I do think they should have that condition in a place that is far easier to view on the website, but then again, massive companies like amazon like to forget to tell you that your trial is expiring. Businesses, y so shady??
Fii | little miss fii
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I called it a scam as when I googled it it was the first suggestion about them haha. So many complaints, issues and bad reviews about them online so they must know they are hiding it to con people out of money or they would make it blatant
Ouch!! I hate things like this, I very nearly did the same thing for a fitness clothing site… Exactly the same principle but it was a lot more clear on the monthly fee etc!!
At least the shoes were nice!!
Clare | http://www.clare-without-an-i.com
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This is the same for Fabletics (they’re part of the same company). Like you I didn’t know about this until I received my outfit (really nice btw) and the letter telling me about becoming a VIP. It needs to be much clearer on their website!