Smarterbox 

Scam company! Avoid!!
Preying on vulnerable people and only intermittently claiming direct debit. Cancel anything you have signed up for immediately — it is all a sham!

Never had a hitch. Signed up, courier collected device — easy as. pensiooner here, appreciated the clear steps and reminder texts.

Again 12.99 phantom direct debit on my 90yr old mothers account - this is Fraud 100% bank is investigating smarterbox do not deal with this company they are either complicit or have been hacked themselves.

I am absolutely appalled by the business practices of Smarterbox. They actively targeted and missold a tech service to my elderly mother who has absolutely zero need for it. She does not use the technology this service supposedly supports, yet they still pressured her into signing up and taking her money. Selling unnecessary tech packages to vulnerable seniors who don't understand what they are buying is predatory and unethical. If you have elderly parents or grandparents, check their bank statements and keep them far away from this company. Disgraceful.

9/3/2026 Still awaiting a response to my email despite the reply to this review. Email sent to address provided on the contract. The letter was sent from a Katie in your office to my mother's address. A copy can be provided.

Sold a subscription of £179.99 plus a direct debit to my mother who thought they were her telecare company.
No answers to their phones or emails.

Just noticed that this company has taken £12.99 out of my account by direct debit.
It seems to be for services to keep my devices safe
I did not request or sanction this. I told my bank who are going to chase this up.
I will keep you informed of my progress.
Update, Trustpilot asked me to supply them with my address and name but that's not going to happen as the police said not to contact them . I get the feeling that Trustpilot will take my post down if I do not comply.
Update 2 Got my money back from building society.
I've just had a thought, why are they asking me for my address when they would have needed that to set up a Direct Debit surely.

This company called my 82 yr old auntie who has no Internet, no devices and she is vulnerable. I notice she received a letter saying welcome. I called them twice and was told I would receive a call in 24 hrs which did not happen. Today I noticed a direct debit set up for direct alliance, luckily nothing as come out yet, so I cancelled it and reported it to the bank. I called them again and I have been told someone will call me back in 24 hrs. I know they won't. I have seen on here this has happened to other elderly people. It's disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Would want to give 0 complete scam, cold called my elderly mother on her landline about tech support, she thought it was BT, she has no tech gadgets, no smart TV, no laptop and no android...nothing, yet they have still been taking money by DD out of her account. They said I needed to send in a copy of the POA before they can cancel her contract, when the letter they sent clearly states 'No Contracts. No Nonsense. Cancel anytime...how many other elderly people are being scammed.
PLEASE DONT TRUST THEM!!!

Had a spill on my phone — annoying — but they replaced it under the plan faster than I expected. and the tech called me back to explain. Puts an old fogey like me at ease.

£12.99 direct debit taken by smarterbox from my elderly parents WITHOUT consent and in BREACH of direct debit guarantee guidelines. Nothing received in return. I know this for a fact because I have power of attorney. You will see many similar reviews. Contacted the bank. All money refunded and Smarterbox are being investigated by the bank and by visa. They have a tactic to have reviews removed that highlight such activity.

Plan does what it says, nothing flashy. Claim process was good but the waiting window for parts was longer than they saoid first time. Not the end of the world, but worth noting.

Overall happy. Cover saved me from paying out for a craked screen but had to phone twice to get the repair slot. Friendly staff, just a bit of faff arranging collection times for someone who’s not as nimble as I used to be.

This company have informed my 90 year old Mother in law that she has an active account with them and they are direct debiting her £12.99 a month to cover all her tech items against viruses and malfunctions . She has a tv a 20yr old mobile phone and a transistor radio she has never spoken to this "company" be very aware of this company and others like it that prey on the old !

BEWARE! I am POA for my mother and luckily check her bank account everyday. £179 DD was taken today by Smarterbox. She has no gadgets to protect so I rang her to check and she said BT rang and it was insurance for her gadgets. She only has a TV. After reading these reviews, I got very concerned. Called the bank to get it cancelled but I am worried that this will happen again

Beware of these scammers. These people conned my elderly father into handing over banking details - it seems they purposefully target the elderly and vulnerable. My father is £400 down. How these guys are legal defies belief.

My mother has had £12.99 taken out of her account and has not agreed to anything as was scammed last year into giving out her details so hasn’t agreed to anything or given out information. She has just called them and they say she did and won’t give a refund. She doesn’t even have devices she needs insurance for. Scammers!

I am impressed with this automatic vacuum. Its easy to use an does a great job picking up my dog hair.

Was helping my 90yo mother with her bank accounts and noticed two payments a month going to 'Smarterbox'. She didn't know what it was for but vaguely remembers being offered insurance of some kind a year or so ago. She states that she didn't want it.

Apart from that, there is absolutely no documentation to be found - no emails other than those informing her of the Direct Debit, no customer refererence numbers, no paper documents. Very suspicious.

Fortunately, I managed to get the DDs cancelled and warned our bank of what was going on. If there is a repeat then I will not hesitate in going to the police. This firm may 'just' be on the right side of legality but it's clear they have a policy of preying on the elderly and vulnerable. Despicable.

Edit: I have been contacted by Smarterbox wanting more info. I don't have a ref number as my mother had NO documentation. I do have screenshots of the DDs. Myself and my brother have PoA from our mother and neither of us were aware of this. She denies ever requesting this 'service'. I really hope SB don't now bombard my mother with questions. If this happens, I will write to my MP and contact the police.

This is a scam.
They Rang my elderly Mother who has no tech in her house, and set up a direct debit. My Mother has no recollection of this. First I knew of it, was when a letter came through the post from SmarterBox.
Rang them to cancel they would not cancel.
Cold Calling people, and deceiving them into giving Bank Details is a disgrace