The UK government has announced plans for tougher regulations to help consumers cancel unwanted subscriptions and recover money, though the new rules are not set to take effect until spring 2027 amid criticism and ongoing investigations.
The UK government has moved up plans to clamp down on subscription traps, promising tougher rules designed to make it easier for consumers to cancel unwanted services and recover money from recurring payments they no longer want. According to the announcement, the measures are intended to save households about £400 million a year and sit within the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which already covers areas such as drip pricing and reviews.
The planned regime would require firms to give clear information before a subscription begins, send reminders before free trials end or contracts renew automatically, and make cancellation straightforward, including online where the customer signed up online. The government has also said consumers would get a 14-day cooling-off period after a free or discounted trial ends or after an auto-renewal, adding an extra safeguard against unwanted charges.
Ministers say the measures respond to a persistent problem. Government figures cited in the consultation put the value of unwanted subscriptions at £1.6 billion a year, while National Trading Standards research found 4.7 million people were paying for subscriptions they did not realise they had taken out. The wider market is large: the government estimates there are about 155 million active subscriptions in the UK.
The move also comes after repeated delays to the rules’ start date. The consumer protections were part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which received Royal Assent in May 2024, but the subscription provisions are now expected to take effect in Spring 2027 at the earliest, according to government material and legal updates. That has fuelled criticism from consumer campaigners, who say the changes cannot arrive soon enough. Separately, the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into Adobe’s subscription terms in March 2026, examining whether cancellation charges and disclosure practices may be unfair.
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