# Check your credit card for €12 monthly to Complete Save or Complete Savings



## Brendan Burgess

Some people have noticed a monthly charge to their credit card for something called "Complete Save" or "Complete Savings". 

Conor Pope in the Irish Times has investigated this and reports on many people finding these payments: 

*This week’s consumer concern relates to mystery payments to Completesave.ie*

and 

More readers contact us about Complete Savings



If someone seeing this on their credit card gets around to investigating it, they find that they have inadvertently signed up to pay €12 a month to a company called Complete Savings. 

They did this when they were booking tickets with Ryanair, Ticketmaster or Irish Rail.  At the end of the booking they were offered €15 cash back off their next booking. They clicked on a button saying "Continue".

The did not realise that they were _continuing _off the Irish Rail website to a completely new website. They filled in credit card details, again thinking that they were just giving this information again to Irish Rail, but in fact they were giving an entirely new company the right to take money out of their account. 

Of course, some people actually realised that they had gone to another site and did not sign up. But with thousands of bookings every day, enough people will fall into the trap and so  make huge profits for Complete Savings and Irish Rail. 

If you have been caught out by this, please tell us your experience in reply to this post. 

You should call Complete Savings on 1800 806 167  and insist that they stop the direct debit and refund you what they have already taken in full. 

You should also make a complaint to the National Consumer Agency and ask them to investigate the way these companies work together to sign up people inadvertently. 

A fuller account is on this thread


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## Brendan Burgess

Darragh O'Brien reports here that the first he heard that he had signed up to this was when he queried a line on his credit card saying "point of sale" . He had no idea what it was for.


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## tannyg

*Complete saving/int'l*

Hi there,

My partner has just today seen on his statement that complete save has taken £10 the last two months, however, he has a lot of transactions, only ever £10 that say INT'L and a very long number, we know Amazon comes up as this but he's fairly sure he hasn't been spending that regularly on there and it IS AWLAYS just £10, just wondered if anybody knew of this at all? We can't work out where it has suddenly come from as when we searched this group the list of com[anies that complete are linked to he hasnt used or shopped with any of them the last 2 months, this is why we wonder about the INT'L transactions.
Can he call his bank? Can the bank help? and more importantly how does he stop this?

Kid regards 

Tanya


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## Brendan Burgess

Hi Tanya

This is an Irish site, but the answer will probably be the same.

He should contact his bank or credit card company and what they are for.  They could be a simple compromise of his card, although this is unlikely as they would normally take out a lot more. 


Someone else asked a similar question 3 years ago but didn't get an answer "What does int'l mean?"


Brendan


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## tannyg

Hi Brendan, 

Firstly sorry I didn't realise, this seemed to be the only sight that was giving the answers I was looking for.
Secondly Thank you for your reply and advise

Tanya


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## Brendan Burgess

When you do sort it out, please get back to us and let us know.

One of the issues with these guys is that they use vague descriptions on their credit cards  e.g. "point of sale"  and people often assume "Ah well I must have bought something" and are too busy to pursue it.


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## ania.rich

I was just checking my account and noticed that. Recently i have booked a flight with Ryanair. This is outrageous. Thanks for the tips!


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## Peter King

Got caught with Ticketmaster. They cancelled it easy enough and said they'd give me back my money. Their whole business model must be based on people not realising that they're taking it! Thanks for letting me know.


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## gipsy18b

Hi have no idea how I have been caught. I m not using Ticketmaster or Irish Rail, and last ticket bought to Ryanair was last year in September...


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## CompleteSave

_Hello gipsy18B:_

_We are very sorry you experienced difficulty when you tried to telephone the Complete Savings Customer Service centre. Please be assured that our telephone number, 1800 806 167,  does still exist and works. We tested the telephone number after we saw your comment on this forum and we found it was working fine. _

_I received the email you sent to me directly. I checked your record and see that you were able to successfully use our telephone number yesterday and spoke to one of our customer service representatives who cancelled your membership as you requested. _

_I hope we have resolved your query to your satisfaction. Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at mary@completesavings.ie should you have further queries. Alternatively, you contact the Complete Savings Customer Service Centre via email at customerservice@completesavings.ie or by telephone on 1800 806 167. Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday 8am-8pm and Saturday 9am-4pm. _

_Kind regards,
Mary
Complete Savings_


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## Brian Cooney66

I just discovered that I am being robbed by this firm also.  I have sent them an email (below) and will keep you posted

Dear Complete savings
I unwittingly signed up for your discount scheme from an Irish rail website.  The advert was so misleading that I actually thought I was signing up for a loyalty scheme with Irish rail.  I have just noticed that your company is stopping €12.00 each month from my visa card since September 2014.  I find this strange as I do not recall being asked for my visa details and I certainly do not recall it being clear that if I was joining your discount scheme I would be paying for the privilege.  I also did not receive an email clearly marked to announce to me the end of my 30 day free trial and that from the next month I would be paying for any discount.  The email contact has been sporadic at best, it seems to me that once your firm began sucking money from my account like a parasite you obviously felt that it would be better not to make your presence known.  Had I received this I would have stopped it at once. 
Looking online I see many other consumers have found the same situation and I want first of all for you to cease taking payment immediately and secondly I want a full refund.  If I do not get a full refund I will taking further action to recoup my money and highlight your dubious and dishonest activity online.  I will be raising this with Irish rail immediately.  This is nothing short of online fraud.  If it seems like I am hopping mad that is because I am hopping mad and am willing to go public to allow other consumers to benefit from my mistake.  

Yours Sincerely

Brian Cooney


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## Brendan Burgess

HI Brian 

Let Irish Rail and the Minister for Transport know as well. 

brendan


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## thedaddyman

Brendan Burgess said:


> HI Brian
> 
> Let Irish Rail and the Minister for Transport know as well.
> 
> brendan


 
You should also raise it with the National Transport Authority in Harcourt Street in Dublin


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## 44brendan

It is nothing short of shameful that a company like Irish Rail should promote this type of underhand signing up of clients to a contract that is totally unrelated to the services that they offer. This Post is now running for the past 12 months and there appears to have been no acknowledgement from IR or justification for the activity. Surely under consumer law such activities should not be permissible.
I noted something similar recently on Ticketmaster and if I had not been aware of the potential dangers of clicking on the link to avail of "Discount on next purchase" I would have fully assumed that it was an offer from Ticketmaster rather than a separate scheme where funds would have been drawn from my account.
Where the hell is "Corporate Responsibility??? Can we no longer trust any company not to try and dupe us? This type of activity is somewhat akin to getting all your colleagues to sign a card for a colleague with a bank withdrawal slip hidden under the card! If this is a legal activity we're all bunched.


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## Raging Bull

Has the NCA ever commented on this?

Misleading practices are illegal under law see consumer protection act


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## 44brendan

Barry Kenny is the main spokesman for Irish Rail and is frequently on the airwaves answering questions from consumers re rail services. I have never heard of this issue being raised with him! In fact I have never seen it mentioned in the media outside of AAM.


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## DingDing

Shocking that Irish Rail who is subsidised by the state resorting to this sort of tactic.


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## Jakub

Hi. First of all sorry for my english-it's not my first language. I have the same problem as well. just realized few days ago that I was charged 12 euro each month since.......august 2013. it was joint account-me, my wife, lot of transactions, car insurance x2, mobile, gas, electricity and much more... just rang ulster bank, spend 18 minutes on phone, they told me to contact completesave directly-I e-mail them and waiting. I have no idea wich web site I was using but ryianair probably. how its possible that official web sites are not secure ryianair or Irish Rail?? is it still safe to use visa or mastercard on line anymore? is that completesave legal or I should contact solicitor? how long it take to get refund?


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## CompleteSave

Hello Jakub:

We will be happy to assist you with your query about Complete Savings.

Complete Savings is an online membership programme ideal for those who shop online regularly. Complete Savings members have access to a wide range of cashback deals, including an initial cashback reward, a monthly cashback reward, discounted gift cards and 10% cashback at over 650 online stores.

The only way to become a member is to enter your details in full on the Complete Savings sign-up page. The details you are required to enter are: your name, your email address (twice), your postal address, a new password (twice) and your credit or debit card details for the monthly billing. It is mentioned in several places on the sign-up page that following 30 days free membership, there is a monthly fee - hence why you are required to provide your credit/debit card details on the sign-up page. To complete your sign-up, you must click a "Yes" button to agree to the terms and conditions of the programme. There is no other way of creating a membership but to provide your details in full and click the "YES" button on the sign-up page.

If you have not yet received a response to the email you sent to our customer service centre, or, you need further assistance, please get in touch with me directly at mary@completesavings.ie so that I can identify your record and resolve your query to your satisfaction. Alternatively, you could telephone our customer service centre on 1800 806 167.

Kind regards,
Mary
The Complete Savings Customer Service Team


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## Aodhan O'Faolain

I just discovered my account is now benefiting the people at The Complete Savings etc. I am livid. I don't use on line shops that much so their product is not attractive to someone like me. I work as a journalist so I will be looking for one hell of an explanation as to what is going on here.


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## Brendan Burgess

Hi Aodhán

Do you know how you signed up to it? Irish Rail or Ryanair for example?  How much did they get?

Brendan


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## ajapale

CompleteSave said:


> The only way to become a member is to enter your details in full on the Complete Savings sign-up page.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Mary
> The Complete Savings Customer Service Team


Hi Mary, is the Complete Savings sign up page clearly flagged as being a distinct from the partner company (Ryanair, Irish Rail, Ticket master etc)? Does the partner company clearly state that the primary transaction is complete and that the customer is now being passed onto a third party? Aj


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## thedaddyman

Be aware if ever booking train tickets on line in the UK that the Trainline.com have a similar offer on the mail they send out confirming your purchase


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## Blue sky's

Brendan Burgess said:


> Some people have noticed a monthly charge to their credit card for something called "Complete Save" or "Complete Savings".
> 
> Conor Pope in the Irish Times has investigated this and reports on many people finding these payments:
> 
> *This week’s consumer concern relates to mystery payments to Completesave.ie*
> 
> and
> 
> More readers contact us about Complete Savings
> 
> 
> 
> If someone seeing this on their credit card gets around to investigating it, they find that they have inadvertently signed up to pay €12 a month to a company called Complete Savings.
> 
> They did this when they were booking tickets with Ryanair, Ticketmaster or Irish Rail.  At the end of the booking they were offered €15 cash back off their next booking. They clicked on a button saying "Continue".
> 
> The did not realise that they were _continuing _off the Irish Rail website to a completely new website. They filled in credit card details, again thinking that they were just giving this information again to Irish Rail, but in fact they were giving an entirely new company the right to take money out of their account.
> 
> Of course, some people actually realised that they had gone to another site and did not sign up. But with thousands of bookings every day, enough people will fall into the trap and so  make huge profits for Complete Savings and Irish Rail.
> 
> If you have been caught out by this, please tell us your experience in reply to this post.
> 
> You should call Complete Savings on 1800 806 167  and insist that they stop the direct debit and refund you what they have already taken in full.
> 
> You should also make a complaint to the National Consumer Agency and ask them to investigate the way these companies work together to sign up people inadvertently.
> 
> A fuller account is on this thread


 Im actually cracking I didn't know what this was appearing on my monthly bank statement so I enquired to my bank they said it wasn't them , with the help of this forum I have sent an email to " complete save " hoping they will stop taking this from my account every month ,


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## Blue sky's

CompleteSave said:


> Hello Jakub:
> 
> We will be happy to assist you with your query about Complete Savings.
> 
> Complete Savings is an online membership programme ideal for those who shop online regularly. Complete Savings members have access to a wide range of cashback deals, including an initial cashback reward, a monthly cashback reward, discounted gift cards and 10% cashback at over 650 online stores.
> 
> The only way to become a member is to enter your details in full on the Complete Savings sign-up page. The details you are required to enter are: your name, your email address (twice), your postal address, a new password (twice) and your credit or debit card details for the monthly billing. It is mentioned in several places on the sign-up page that following 30 days free membership, there is a monthly fee - hence why you are required to provide your credit/debit card details on the sign-up page. To complete your sign-up, you must click a "Yes" button to agree to the terms and conditions of the programme. There is no other way of creating a membership but to provide your details in full and click the "YES" button on the sign-up page.
> 
> If you have not yet received a response to the email you sent to our customer service centre, or, you need further assistance, please get in touch with me directly at mary@completesavings.ie so that I can identify your record and resolve your query to your satisfaction. Alternatively, you could telephone our customer service centre on 1800 806 167.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Mary
> The Complete Savings Customer Service Team


Mary from complete save , I have sent an email to your address that you have given here , I also wish for u to look into my account I want this to stop ,, I was unaware of given " complete save " permission to take from my account €12 per month ,, I have also made transactions threw " Irish rail " and ticket master ,, only for these sites to withdraw from my account , I feel like I'm been robbed , I need to be unsubscribe to anything to do with " complete save " as not knowingly  to me ye got yer company name into one of the sites I dealt with and tricked me ,


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## Blue sky's

CompleteSave said:


> _Hello gipsy18B:_
> 
> _We are very sorry you experienced difficulty when you tried to telephone the Complete Savings Customer Service centre. Please be assured that our telephone number, 1800 806 167,  does still exist and works. We tested the telephone number after we saw your comment on this forum and we found it was working fine. _
> 
> _I received the email you sent to me directly. I checked your record and see that you were able to successfully use our telephone number yesterday and spoke to one of our customer service representatives who cancelled your membership as you requested. _
> 
> _I hope we have resolved your query to your satisfaction. Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at mary@completesavings.ie should you have further queries. Alternatively, you contact the Complete Savings Customer Service Centre via email at customerservice@completesavings.ie or by telephone on 1800 806 167. Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday 8am-8pm and Saturday 9am-4pm. _
> 
> _Kind regards,
> Mary
> Complete Savings_


 

Hi there , I would like to publicly thank " Mary@completesavings.ie" for handling my complaint ,, it only took one email for her to cancel my account , this is not a scam after all it's just something you click on unknowingly if your dealing with " irishrail " or ticket master , im very great full for her quick response and cancelling the monthly transaction , thank you again ,)


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## hakoun

Called them this morning to complain about the 12 euros charge ,Lucas was understandable and issued an account cancellation and refund email as below

Email :

This notice confirms that your Membership in Complete Savings has been cancelled as of 29/05/2015. 

Your cancel confirmation number is: 379XXX68. 

We have issued a refund of your Membership fee. This refund will appear as a credit to your account within the next 10 working days. 

Please let us know if your request was resolved to your satisfaction. All responses submitted will go to our Customer Service Director for review because your feedback is important to us. 

If you would like to provide feedback, please click here.

Sincerely, 

The Complete Savings Customer Service Team 
customerservice@completesavings.ie
1800 806 167*


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## KathAng

Brendan Burgess said:


> Hi Aodhán
> 
> Do you know how you signed up to it? Irish Rail or Ryanair for example?  How much did they get?
> 
> Brendan


 I've just noticed this on my bank account - it happened off the Irish Rail site.  They've taken 5 payments of €12.  I was talking to them on the phone and they are offering a complete refund.  Kathryn.


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## ciaran62

Hi 

Just noticed that I have gotten caught with 8 payments of 12 euros with complete savings on my visa account, I booked flights with Ryanair in January, I have sent a mail to them requesting a complete refund to my credit card account, Ciaran


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## LAFFERP

Thank you for advice, think i copped it early, Irish Rail the culprits here. Complete refund offered without drama.


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## crowesalento

Happened to me too. Booked flights with ryanair earlier this year. They got 7 months of 12euro from me. Im furious. 

Theres a legal email another guy sent (its on another thread) that Ive sent and hopefully that will work


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## David Connolly

Did everyone receive their money back? I always though it was a charge for a savings account. And until today I never questioned it!! I think it was Irish Rail I signed up through. They started taking deductions in Sepetember 2013 !! I never once received an email or any form of communication from them.


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## martin12345

Hi just realised I have been signed up to this account since Feb 2015 after booking a flight with ryanair!!!

 I am outraged.

With them for taking my money and with myself for not noticng, I assumed it was a charity I had signed up for.

I have never had an account or received any emails or notifications from them, I dont know what they call that in financial services speak, but I know what I call it!


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## Brendan Burgess

martin12345 said:


> I assumed it was a charity I had signed up for.



What was the wording on your credit card statement? 

Brendan


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## WalDub

I just noticed this and to my horror found they'd taken 22 payments from my account without my knowledge...they've said they would refund.. let's wait and see...the guy was very well versed on the procedure. 

As I say let's wait and see....

W


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## The Oggster

I signed up to it to receive the €15 discount on Ticketmaster when I was buying U2 tickets. I think some people may find the site useful. There are discounts on giftcards for certain retailers. 20% off Argos for one.

[broken link removed]

I haven't checked out the other offers yet. I am not affiliated with them but do think some people will think it's worth it.

You can cancel online too.
https://www.completesavings.ie/Features/Cancel/Default.rails


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## Brendan Burgess

Hi Oggster 

But if you cancel online, will they refund all the payments. 

I have no problem with people voluntarily and consciously signing for this. 

The problem is all the people who signed up for it without knowing that they were doing so.

Brendan


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## The Oggster

I'd imagine you'd have to contact them to seek a refund. I cancelled in the trial period without using their services. I don't find it good value.

I know what you're saying about people signing up unwittingly and while it may look like it was a Ticketmaster site at first glance, it was quite clear to me what I was signing up to. I am usually wary about signing up to these things anyway. It asks for your credit card details. This is after you have bought your tickets so that's why I made sure to read it carefully.


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## johnel

It happened to me this month after I bought something online from debenhams.ie. I was charged with 15 euros.
I called the bank and they knew about completesave.ie and they transferred my phone to another person who asked me if I want to cancel the membership contract because she can do it for me right now. Of coooourse, I answered. They promised me a refund in 10 days. Let's see how much it will be.
NB: I have never completed a membership form with completesave.ie.
Mental bending.


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## TH1981

This 15EUR monthly payments to completesave.ie happened to me as well,
i have no idea how this happened, since i never subscribe to any of those things and
not really  using many irish online services it must have
happened when booking a ryanair flight..
i immedaitely asked to cancel and reimburse the total aomount taken..
hope i get my money back...
i m still shocked that its possible for them to get away with this
This happened to me the first time and its one more reason to avoid ryanair!!!


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## suzie

My Partner was stung by this, but did eventually get reimbursed

S.


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## maherr

Noticed this on my bank statement. Absolute scam. This is facilitated, in my case, by Tickermaster.


I did not knowingly enter into an agreement to sign up to a monthly charged of $15.
I was not asked for visa details.
I did not receive any emails acknowledging any aspect of this arrangement.

Absolute online scam


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## Malaga Mag

I have just checked my cc account and €15 has been taken from my cc. I certainly did not give anyone authority to do this and have not booked anything with companies mentioned so how is this possible. I am going to ring number you provided to get some answers.


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## Malaga Mag

Just spoke to Complete Savings agent and cancelled account and refund being put back on cc. Thanks for all your help. Mag.


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## Julies

Hi iv just noticed complete saving in my account taking out 12 Euro over several months I need to check how long , not sure how I did it could of been Ryanair.. could you plse give the number you phoned to get refund 
Thanks Julie


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## Jazz01

Hi Julies.. more info on the initial post.. few links there too to read through...



Brendan Burgess said:


> You should call Complete Savings on 1800 806 167 and insist that they stop the direct debit and refund you what they have already taken in full.


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## ajapale

ajapale said:


> Hi Mary, is the Complete Savings sign up page clearly flagged as being a distinct from the partner company (Ryanair, Irish Rail, Ticket master etc)? Does the partner company clearly state that the primary transaction is complete and that the customer is now being passed onto a third party? Aj


Is this Complete Savings thing still going?


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## Daenis

yes i got offered the cashback on debenhams.ie only yesterday - luckily for me i tend to read the small print so i didn't go through with it, but it would be very easy to get sucked in particularly if someone is familiar with the visa debit cashback schemes offered by aib and permanent tsb the complete savings could easily be mistaken as another free cashback opportunity.


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## Wintersun

Truly shocking. I was caught by this, I initially cancelled my credit card and they still managed to continue to charge me. I rang them today for a cancellation and a refund (we'll see) They try to justify this but it is nothing short of a scam. I had no account that I could log into so where was the €15 going ????? I would not like to work for these guys.....


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