A cheap fitness plan can become an expensive subscription. That concern drives consumer complaints
about MadMuscles, a fitness and workout app developed by AMOAPPS LIMITED, a company whose Google Play listing lists an address in Strovolos, Cyprus. The app offers personalised workouts, diet plans and programmes ranging from strength training to Tai Chi-style exercise. Google Play shows more than one million downloads and over 100,000 reviews, giving the service a substantial international reach.
The dispute is not primarily about exercise content. It is about billing.
Consumers in several countries have complained about low-priced introductory offers followed by higher charges, automatic renewals, additional plans, coaching services and other subscriptions they say were not sufficiently clear when they first entered their card details.
One recent Indian case illustrates the problem. The subscriber initially provided credit-card details for a fitness plan. After discovering that the arrangement involved recurring payments, the subscriber cancelled both the subscription and renewal.
The cancellation was acknowledged by MadMuscles. Screenshots reviewed for this article show the service confirming that the subscription had been cancelled and stating that no additional charges would occur.
Yet, on September 24, 2026, Rs 10,399 was debited from the subscriber’s HDFC Bank credit card through an AutoPay mandate in favour of AMOAPPS LIMITED.
The subscriber has since disputed the transaction with the bank, sought cancellation of the recurring mandate and approached cybercrime authorities.
A pattern visible in consumer complaints
The case is not isolated. MadMuscles’ public reviews contain repeated allegations involving unexpected renewals, additional subscriptions and difficulty obtaining refunds. Trustpilot’s summary of hundreds of reviews for one MadMuscles-related profile specifically cites complaints about unexpected charges, auto-renewals, subscription fees, and difficulty cancelling services or obtaining refunds.
The Better Business Bureau also lists numerous complaints involving MadMuscles. Its complaint categories include dozens relating specifically to billing and sales or advertising issues. Several consumers describe introductory payments followed by recurring charges, while others say billing continued after they believed their subscriptions had been cancelled.
A complaint published by Spain’s consumer organisation OCU similarly describes a customer paying for one advertised plan and later discovering another subscription charge that the consumer said they had not knowingly authorised.
Google Play reviews show comparable allegations. One user said a Tai Chi offer costing USD 9.99 was followed almost immediately by an additional USD 29.99 charge. Another complained about plans allegedly added without being requested. AMO Apps responded to these reviews by saying users confirm charges before payment and directing complainants to its customer-support service.
These are consumer allegations, not findings of fraud by a court or regulator. But their recurrence across platforms raises legitimate questions about how subscription choices, add-on products and renewal prices are presented.
Cancellation should have a clear meaning
MadMuscles says subscriptions renew automatically according to the billing period the customer selects. Its support page also states that cancelling a subscription stops automatic renewal and prevents charges for subsequent periods. Another company page advises customers to cancel at least 24 hours before the next billing date.
That makes cases involving charges after an acknowledged cancellation particularly important.
Where a company has confirmed cancellation and expressly told a customer that future charges will stop, a subsequent debit deserves a clear explanation. Consumers should not have to determine whether they cancelled a workout plan but unknowingly retained a separate coaching, nutrition or supplementary subscription.
This distinction appears repeatedly in complaints. Customers say they believed they purchased one fitness programme, only to later see separate charges for additional products or services.
MadMuscles disputes suggestions that it deliberately misleads customers. In responses to public reviews, the company says it discloses subscription terms and renewal prices before purchase, that additional products are optional, and that users confirm charges themselves. It has also apologised in individual cases where billing information may not have been sufficiently clear and, in some cases, reported issuing refunds.
The broader issue, therefore, goes beyond one disputed Rs 10,399 transaction. Digital subscription businesses depend on informed consent. That consent should be as clear when money is renewed as when the first payment is taken.
A subscription should also be as easy to terminate as it is to start.
For consumers, the lesson is to keep cancellation emails, screenshots, and payment notifications, and to revoke recurring mandates through their bank immediately when a dispute arises. For payment providers and regulators, repeated complaints about post-cancellation charges deserve scrutiny.
Banks, consumer authorities, and law-enforcement agencies ultimately determine whether individual transactions amount to fraud. But when customers say cancellation does not reliably stop billing, the subscription model itself demands closer examination.
