Subscribed to Claude 20 Max two days ago (more than 200 euros/month...). Service was more than underwhelming, so I immediately requested refund after one day and a half and therefore within the 14-day withdrawal period guaranteed by Article L221-18 of the French Code de la consommation (EU Consumer Rights Directive).
I wanted to terminate it right away because I am truly unhappy with it.
Refused by an AI support agent ("Fin AI Agent") on the grounds that a refund had previously been issued on my account (of 20 euros in the past). This limitation does not appear in Anthropic's published Consumer Terms, and under Article L221-29 the withdrawal right cannot be contractually waived anyway.
I tried to contact the company by email citing the relevant articles. Received the same automated refusal. No way to reach a human.
Has anyone else in the EU run into this? Any advice?
Thanks.
In case someone of Anthropic is reading...
Conversations ID on file: 215474070909139 and 215474070830461 and 215474071050256
PS EDIT : Quick note for those who say "no refunds on digital stuff in Europe", Indeed within the EU this right is granted, but it depends on the digital content nature, as it's a mix-up of three different rules:
- The digital content exception (L221-28 13°) is for things like ebooks or downloads, not ongoing SaaS, and it only applies under strict conditions. Also, the services exception (L221-28 1°) only kicks in once the service is fully performed, a subscription used two days isn't. And a trader's own "no refund" policy has no legal force: L221-29 voids any waiver of the withdrawal right. Claude Max is a service, not digital content, and clearly not fully performed. Neither exception applies. Actually this kind
- Anthropic isn't even invoking them. Anthropic's own Consumer Terms (Section 6(f)) explicitly restate the 14-day withdrawal right within the EU.
- The AI bot is citing a "one refund per account" rule that exists in no statute and isn't in their Terms either.
EDIT 2:
What's Anthropic actually risking?
French consumer law (DGCCRF): Up to €75,000 per breach for refusing a valid 14-day withdrawal. Fines stack per consumer, in 2019 a company got hit with €600,000 for 30 separate violations of withdrawal-period rules. Plus civil penalties: late refunds accrue interest that can double the original sum. For Anthropic the same fine would be hundreds of times that...
GDPR (CNIL): Article 22 forbids decisions made solely by automation when they significantly affect you. Refusing a refund via bot, with no human review, is textbook violation territory. Max fine: €20M or 4% of global turnover. Uber got €10M in NL for similar issues in 2023.
EU AI Act: In force since August 2025. Up to €35M or 7% of global turnover for serious breaches. A refund bot mechanically denying statutory rights is exactly what regulators are starting to look at.
Realistically, one complaint won't bankrupt them. But if they're applying this "one refund per account" rule across thousands of EU users, each one is a stackable violation.