Kate
Repeated charges after cancellation; disappointing service
I was initially drawn to SelfDecode by its marketing and decided to purchase a genetic test a few years ago, hoping that some of the insights might help me better understand some unexplained symptoms. Unfortunately, my experience with the service was disappointing at best. I spent a significant amount of time going through the available insights, but I personally found that many of the recommendations were quite basic and were things I had already come across through general research. As a result, I did not feel that I gained much new or useful information from the service, and I decided not to continue my subscription after the first year I had paid for. Unfortunately, my experience since cancelling has been the most frustrating part. I cancelled my subscription at the time, but I have subsequently been charged for a yearly subscription on multiple occasions. On previous occasions, I contacted customer support and after lots of hassle, the charges were eventually refunded. Having to notice the charge, contact support and resolve the issue each time has been stressful and time-consuming, because they don't make this straightforward! They didn't reply to my emails on multiple occasions and follow ups (I always emailed way ahead of time before the charges actually happened, giving them plenty of time to respond) and they only finally replied once the charge has been taken from my account which looks very suspicious to me (yet they defend themselves that apparently they haven't received my emails). The latest charge has been refunded after lots of stress once again. Again they apparently haven't received my email until it was too late... then when they finally replied I was told that I would need to book a cancellation call. I have declined to do this because I had already cancelled my subscription previously and do not feel that arranging a call should be necessary to resolve a recurring charge that I did not expect. Next I was told they intend to keep 10% of the fee, which, given the circumstances and that I originally cancelled over 2 years ago and it keeps renewing despite that, is unacceptable. Just like last year, they promised that this will not happen again, but to avoid this happening a third time,I will ask my bank to block further payments to prevent any further unexpected charges. Overall, based on my personal experience, I did not find the service sufficiently useful to justify continuing the subscription, and the repeated charges after I had cancelled have significantly affected my overall experience with the company. Edit: now in the reply they are saying that I haven't responded to their offer so the cancellation wasn't processed - that is simply untrue. Of course I have replied, and I was told that it was successfully cancelled, which I have screenshots to proove.
Response from SelfDecodeSep 18, 2026
Hi Kate — you're right, and I've corrected this reply. I've since confirmed that in April 2024 we told you your subscription would be cancelled and refunded. That exchange took place outside our main support inbox, so it wasn't in the records I initially checked. The cancellation was never carried through on our end, a human error. Because this was our error, we waived the processing fee and refunded your renewal in full before your review was published. Your subscription is cancelled and no further charges will occur. — Cassie, SelfDecode