Carly App Doesn t Work, No Refund, Hides Behind "German La

[BritishMacFan]

Just a warning for fellow UK drivers thinking of trying Carly (OBD diagnostics app + dongle). I had a very poor experience — and it turns out I’m not alone.

I bought the Carly subscription and OBD dongle last year. It never worked with my car despite:

Multiple firmware updates,
Hours spent with their support,
Three different replacement dongles sent to me.
No success. Carly admitted ongoing issues but never actually resolved them.

Then it gets worse: they auto-renewed my subscription for another year, even though I’d raised multiple tickets and told them the product didn’t work. I asked for a refund.

Their response?

“We’re a German company, so German rental law applies. No refunds after renewal.”
They refused to acknowledge UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, despite targeting UK customers (English website, ships to UK, prices in GBP).
I’ve now:

Appealed a rejected PayPal claim (they claimed "delivery" just means app access),
Filed with UK Trading Standards and Citizens Advice,
Submitted a complaint to the European Consumer Centre UK.
If you’re in the UK, be aware:

Carly won’t refund you even if their product never works.
Support just loops you back to tech steps or German law.
You’re better off with a proper diagnostic tool or OEM-level scanner.
If you’ve had similar issues or know how to push this further, I’m all ears.