What Local Slags costs and how billing works

The short version: looking is free, talking is paid. Here's the detail, so nothing on your bank statement comes as a surprise.

Free and paid, side by side

You can join, build a profile, browse and receive interest without paying. Reading and replying to messages needs a membership.

The members area shows the exact price of each plan before you pay. Memberships renew automatically until you cancel in Settings > Billing. Check the price and billing details at checkout before you pay.

The members area shows the price of each plan, and of any extra, before you confirm a payment, so check it there rather than relying on a screenshot or an old review. Prices are set in the members area, not on this website, and can change.

What a membership unlocks

A membership is what turns browsing into conversations. Across the network's members areas, these features need an upgrade:

• reading messages and replying to them
• read receipts, so you can see when a message has been read
• seeing who has viewed your profile
• likes, and viewing photos in full

Free members also see adverts. If you're not sure you'll use those features, browse for free first and upgrade when someone catches your eye.

Renewal: the bit people miss

Every membership renews automatically at the end of each period until you cancel. If you only want one period, set a reminder for a couple of days before it ends, or cancel early. The members-area terms explain how the rest of a period is handled once you cancel.

If checkout offers you a trial or introductory deal, read the line under the price. Introductory offers roll into a full membership unless you cancel before they end.

How to cancel

Cancelling takes a minute and is done inside the members area.

1. Log in to the members area.
2. Go to Settings > Billing.
3. Cancel your membership and look for the confirmation on screen. A screenshot of it is worth keeping.

Do it before your renewal date. Cancelling stops future payments; it doesn't delete your profile. To remove your profile as well, click your avatar, then Settings > Delete Account. Refunds and the handling of any unused time are set out in the members-area terms.

What appears on your statement

Checkout shows the billing name that will appear on your card statement. If you share a bank account or your statements are opened by someone else, check it before you pay; the discretion guide has more on keeping casual dating private.

Also check the currency shown at checkout. If you pay in a currency other than your card's own, your bank may add a foreign transaction fee, so the amount on your statement can differ slightly from the checkout price.

If you see a charge you don't recognise, check whether anyone else could have used your card, then contact the members help centre before going to your bank.

Optional extras

Extras are one-off purchases on top of, or alongside, a membership. They include profile boosts, priority messages, a 24-hour pass, revealing who has liked you, and an ID-verified badge (an ID document plus a selfie, checked by LEM Verify). None of them is needed to use the site, and none of them changes what the site checks about other members. Prices are shown in the members area before you buy.

A quick checklist before you pay

• Have you browsed enough to know there's someone you'd like to talk to?
• Have you noted the renewal date, and set a reminder if you only want one period?
• Have you checked the billing name and currency at checkout?
• Do you know where to cancel (Settings > Billing)?

Then read how Local Slags works and the safety and consent page, and you'll know exactly what you're paying for. Trouble getting in afterwards? See log-in help.