Unauthorized Open English Renewal Charge Hits My Credit Card

In January 2025, I purchased a one-year premium membership from Open English, specifically on 02.01.2025. During the purchase, I clearly stated that I did not want my credit card information to be stored in the system and that automatic renewal should not be enabled. Despite this explicit request, on 02.01.2026, a charge of 2,237.81 TL was made to my VakıfBank Worldcard under the description “automatic renewal,” without any prior notification, information, or my consent. I absolutely do not accept this transaction, which was carried out without my approval. Throughout the initial one-year membership period, I did not log into my Open English account even once, did not attend any lessons, and did not use any features of the service. In other words, I did not receive or benefit from the service for which this automatic renewal fee was charged. After noticing the charge, I contacted Open English customer service. Although I was told that they had a 14-day refund policy, my refund request was rejected with the justification that the fee was collected as an “automatic renewal” and therefore could not be refunded. This refusal was given even though I had not actively used the service and had not even logged into my account. When I contacted VakıfBank regarding the transaction, I was told that I needed to resolve the issue directly with Open English. I consider the charge of 2,237.81 TL made on 02.01.2026 to my VakıfBank Worldcard without my explicit consent and without any service usage as an unauthorized transaction and unjust enrichment. I request the immediate and full refund of the 2,237.81 TL charged to my credit card and the complete deletion of my card information from your system so that no further unauthorized charges can be made. If this unauthorized transaction is not reversed and my card information is not removed from your records, I will initiate all necessary objection, chargeback, and complaint processes with my bank VakıfBank and with the relevant official authorities.