Strava Charged Me $19 Immediately Despite a 30-Day Free Trial

I downloaded the Strava app to my iPhone and created a new account. The app offered me a 30-day free trial, which I accepted. However, as soon as the free trial started, I received an SMS notification and saw that approximately $19 was charged through Apple via Vodafone Pay mobile billing.

I was supposed to use the trial period without any charge, so being billed right at the start caused me serious inconvenience. I contacted Apple Support and requested that the transaction be canceled and the amount refunded, but I received a negative response, and the subscription was not canceled.

What makes the situation even more confusing is that even if I were to accept the subscription, I can neither cancel it nor properly use it. In the Strava app, it appears as if I do not have any active subscription, so I cannot access Premium features. However, in my Apple account’s subscriptions section, there is an active Strava subscription shown as valid until 2027.

I am experiencing a clear grievance both because money was taken under the name of a free trial and because I cannot use the service despite being charged. I request that the approximately $19 charged due to this erroneous transaction be fully refunded to me by Strava and Apple.