Bought Something in an Apple Store Recently? Here's How to Check for Subscriptions You Didn't Ask For

There have been reports in the last couple of weeks that some Apple Store staff in the US have been signing customers up for subscription trials, such as Apple One, without properly explaining that they'd be charged once the free period ended. There's nothing to suggest stores here in the UK are involved, but with Christmas shopping getting under way it's a good moment to spend a minute checking your own Apple Account, because if there's a trial sitting there that you never wanted, you can cancel it before it costs you a penny.

What's being alleged

The claims come from Louis Rossmann, an electronics technician and consumer rights campaigner who is well known for his YouTube videos. Over the past fortnight he has shared a series of videos based on tip-offs from people who say they work in US Apple Stores. These are anonymous accounts passed on to him rather than anything that has been proven, so it's fair to treat them as allegations, although MacRumors, a long-running Apple news site with a good track record, has looked into them and written them up in detail.

As MacRumors describes it, a member of staff in a US store may ask whether you'd like to scan a QR code for a more personal shopping experience, which Apple calls "Connect and Personalize". If you say yes, their store device can show which Apple products you own, what you already subscribe to and which trial offers you're eligible for after your purchase. Those offers appear on the staff member's device with Agree and Decline buttons, and the card already saved on your Apple Account is used automatically if you sign up.

The tipsters allege that some staff rushed through this without making clear that the trials auto-renew, which means they quietly turn into a paid subscription unless you cancel. Some staff were allegedly told to present the trials as "gifts", and in some cases staff are said to have tapped Agree themselves without the customer ever seeing the screen.

What MacRumors reports Apple has changed

According to MacRumors, at least some US stores were tracking something called a "services attach rate" for each member of staff until early last week, with a target of 40%. In plain terms, staff were encouraged to get four out of every ten customers buying a device to also sign up for at least one subscription.

MacRumors says it has confirmed that Apple dropped that target early last week, just days after Rossmann's videos went up. The explanation Apple gave the site is that the measure matters less at Christmas, when lots of people are buying presents for someone else. Later in the week, MacRumors reports, Apple sent an internal memo reminding retail staff about respecting customer privacy and getting consent, covering subscription trials and Connect and Personalize as well as Apple Upgrade sign-ups and permission for Genius Bar repairs. MacRumors itself says it can't be sure whether this was down to the holiday season, the videos or both.

Does this affect people in the UK?

Everything reported so far is about stores in the US, and there's nothing to say it has happened here. Even so, checking takes almost no time, and it's a sensible habit anyway because any trial you've accepted, knowingly or not, will renew and start charging unless you stop it. Apple does send an email when a new trial starts on your account, but it's very easy to skim past that or mistake it for an ordinary receipt, so it's worth looking back through your inbox and your bank or card statements too.

How to check your subscriptions on an iPhone

• Open the Settings app and tap your name at the top.
• Tap Subscriptions. You'll see everything active on your Apple Account, including free trials.
• Tap any subscription you don't want, then tap Cancel Subscription. You may need to scroll down to find it.
• If there's no Cancel button, or you see an expiry message in red, it has already been cancelled.

If it's a trial you don't want to carry on with, Apple says to cancel it at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Apple's own guide, Cancel a subscription from Apple, covers the steps for a Mac, an iPad, a Windows PC and the web as well.

If you can't see a subscription you're being charged for, search your email for "receipt from Apple" or "invoice from Apple" and check which Apple Account is on the receipt. If it's a family member's account, they'll need to cancel it themselves, and if there's no Apple receipt at all, the charge may be from another company, so your bank statement will tell you who to contact.

If you've already been charged

You can ask Apple for your money back through its Report a Problem website. Apple's guide, Request a refund for apps or content you've bought from Apple, sets out the steps:

• Sign in at reportaproblem.apple.com with your Apple Account.
• Choose I'd like to, then Request a refund.
• Pick the reason, tap Next, choose the subscription and tap Submit.

Apple says you should hear back within 24 to 48 hours, and if the refund is approved it can take a little longer for the money to reach your account. If the charge is still showing as pending you'll need to wait for the email receipt before you can ask. Refunds aren't guaranteed, but Apple's page makes clear that in countries with consumer protection laws, which includes the UK, you keep your rights under those laws.

What I'd suggest

Thankfully, none of my customers have come to me with a subscription they didn't remember agreeing to after a trip to an Apple Store. If you're buying something in a store this Christmas and you're at all unsure, or you just want to double-check before you leave, you're always welcome to open Settings, tap your name and then tap Subscriptions right there and then, so you know exactly what's on your account.

If you do find a subscription you never meant to start, I'd definitely cancel it straight away. In some cases it's also worth trying to get a refund, and in my experience you should at least have a go, either through Apple's Report a Problem process or by going direct to the company that's billing you.

If you'd like a hand checking your subscriptions or asking for a refund, you can ask iHelp AI a quick question at any time, or book a session with us, remotely anywhere in the UK or in person across Dorset, and we'll go through it together.

Alex