Check your bank statements now: Aussie mum’s warning after discovering unexpected charges costing her over $3,000
Kelly Arvan noticed unexpected Amazon transactions in her bank account for add-on subscriptions she had no idea she was paying for.
When she began her own audit of her bank statements, she was stunned to find recurring direct debit payments – including Netflix ($18.99), PlayStation ($11.95) and Woolworths Everyday Rewards Extra ($7) – adding up to $3,170 a year.
As it turned out, the mum-of-two from Victoria was unknowingly paying for 15 different subscriptions she thought she’d cancelled or had simply forgotten about months, if not years, earlier.
‘I was honestly shocked,’ Kelly told Daily Mail.
‘Individually, some of the charges didn’t seem like much, but when I added them all together, it was over $3,000 a year. That’s a huge amount of money to be spending on things I wasn’t even using. It was definitely a wake-up call.
‘I couldn’t believe it. I kept thinking about all the things that money could have gone towards instead – our family, the kids, savings or even a holiday.
‘It made me realise how easy it is to lose track of these small recurring payments when life gets busy, and how important it is to actually review your statements every so often.’
It all started when Kelly recommended a movie on Amazon to her dad, who was using her account, but he pointed out the particular film came with an extra cost.
Kelly Arvan noticed unexpected transactions in her bank account for add-on subscriptions she wasn’t aware she was paying for
Confused, she logged into her account settings to check – only to realise she was paying for add-on subscriptions she didn’t remember signing up for, including Kindle Unlimited ($11.99) and Audible ($16.45).
‘I cancelled them straight away, but then I started wondering, if I’ve missed these, what else am I paying for without realising?’ she recalled.
‘The next day I ordered my bank statements and went through every transaction. I was genuinely shocked by how many subscriptions I’d either forgotten about, thought I’d already cancelled or didn’t even realise were still charging me.’
When she added up the transactions, she realised they totalled $264 a month – a ‘hard pill to swallow’ when she discovered they were costing her $3,170 a year.
‘I don’t know exactly how long I’ve been paying for these subscriptions,’ she said.
‘Some of the subscriptions had definitely been charging me for over one or two years, while others may have only been a few months.
‘I almost don’t want to think about it because knowing that so much money has gone to waste is really upsetting. It’s definitely taught me a big lesson about checking my accounts regularly.’
Kelly, a content creator, has managed to permanently cancel the majority of the services – but there’s one account she’s still having issues shutting down.
‘I’m still having trouble cancelling a service called WASK, which I used for a follower giveaway generator over two years ago,’ she said.
‘They don’t seem to have a way to cancel your subscription on their website, and despite emailing them multiple times, I haven’t received a response.
‘It’s still charging me around $29 a month, which is really frustrating. If I can’t get it resolved soon, I’ll probably have to contact my bank to stop the payments.’
The mum shared her experience on TikTok to warn Australians to check their bank statements immediately for any forgotten subscriptions or hidden charges.
‘I was paying for five different Amazon subscriptions coming out of my account monthly and I didn’t realise, so I thought I probably should do a bank audit and see what else money’s flying out the door,’ she said.
‘You are going to be just as shocked and disappointed as I am. And if you didn’t think I was divorced before, there’s probably a good chance I’m going to be divorced now because I run the accounts.’
As it turned out, the mum-of-two from Victoria was unknowingly paying for 15 different services she thought she’d cancelled or had forgotten about months, if not years, earlier
While going through her bank statements, she realised she was paying for services she never used.
‘HBO, never watched it. Paramount, Sony, why is Sony there? WASK, I used this two years ago,’ she said.
‘Stan Premium, thought I cancelled it. Netflix, thought I cancelled it. Disney – I use my friend’s Disney account, but I’m paying for it too. MGM, what the f*** is that?
‘Kindle Unlimited, I thought I cancelled that months ago because I have so many books to read. PlayStation, I don’t even own a PlayStation – I borrowed my nephew’s once.
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‘Klaviyo marketing, I thought I cancelled it. Invoice Plus, haven’t used that for more than six months. Audible? I haven’t listened to a book on Audible since three years ago. Everyday Rewards, I got no points, so I’m not using it, but I pay them $7 a month.’
Kelly said the only subscription she was using was Spotify Premium, but she ended up cancelling her account out of anger over the other charges.
‘But I will be resubscribing because I use Spotify all the time,’ she said.
She urged everyone to audit their own bank accounts.
‘It makes me feel sick to know that this much money has been wasted every single month for God knows how long,’ she said.
‘But you don’t learn until you learn. So this is a huge life lesson for me. When I saw this, I was scared to tell my husband Arvin. I really was. Now I’ve learnt.’
