Most of us have at least one. A streaming service you signed up to for a single show, a cloud storage plan you forgot about, a fitness app that quietly rolled from a free trial into a full price plan. In the UK, the government is about to make that kind of thing much harder for companies to get away with.
New subscription rules under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, usually shortened to the DMCC Act, are now expected to take effect in January 2027. They will force businesses to explain their terms clearly, remind people before key payments, give them new chances to back out, and make cancelling about as easy as signing up. The rules cover streaming, digital storage, gyms, apps and pretty much any service that renews automatically.
The short version
- The subscription rules were pulled forward from spring 2027 to January 2027, timed for when people start new subscriptions for the year.
- Companies must send reminders before a free or discounted trial ends, before a 12 month or longer contract renews, and at least every six months otherwise.
- Customers get a 14 day cooling off period at the start, and a new one after a trial ends or a long contract renews.
- If you signed up online, you must be able to cancel online. “Just email us” will not be enough.
- The government says the average person could save about £14 ($18.70) a month for every unwanted subscription they get out of.
Why the UK is doing this
The numbers behind the law are striking. Government research estimates that UK consumers hold around 155 million active subscriptions, and close to 10 million of them are ones people do not actually want. Together those unwanted subscriptions cost around £1.6 billion a year.
The government says the changes should save consumers around £400 million a year overall. Sue Davies, head of consumer rights policy at Which?, welcomed them: “Subscription traps can be costly and wreak havoc on finances that are already under strain from the cost-of-living crisis. The strengthening of subscription laws will be welcome news for those struggling with rising costs. These new rules will help put consumers in the driving seat with proper transparency and protection.”
What changes, step by step
The easiest way to understand the rules is to follow a subscription from the day you sign up to the day you leave.
Clear terms before you pay
Before you sign up, a business must give you the key information in a clear way: what you will pay, how often, when the price changes after an offer ends, and how to cancel. Burying that in a terms page is no longer enough.
Reminders that actually remind you
This is the change most people will notice. Companies must send a reminder before a free trial or discounted introductory period ends, before a contract of 12 months or more renews, and otherwise at least once every six months. That means a monthly Netflix or Spotify subscriber should get a nudge twice a year, not every month. The reminders have to arrive in writing in a lasting form such as an email, text or WhatsApp message, so a quick pop-up inside an app will not count. The key information also has to be more prominent than anything else in that message, so it cannot be hidden under a promotion.
Two kinds of cooling off period
You will get a 14 day cooling off period when you first take out a subscription. The bigger change is a second, “renewal” cooling off window: another 14 days after a free or discounted trial turns into a paid plan, and after a contract of 12 months or longer renews. If you cancel inside that window you are due a refund, although for services and digital content the business can keep a proportionate amount for what you actually used. If a company fails to give you the required information, the cooling off period is extended, for up to 12 months.
Leaving has to be easy
Cancelling must be straightforward and free of unnecessary steps. If you signed up online, you must be able to cancel online. Telling customers to send an email or cancel their direct debit with the bank does not meet the standard. Companies can still show you a retention offer or ask why you are leaving, but those steps cannot be compulsory or excessive.
Who enforces it, and with what teeth
The rules will be enforced by the Competition and Markets Authority. Since April 2025, the CMA has been able to fine companies directly for breaking consumer law, without going through the courts, with penalties of up to 10% of global turnover. It has already used those powers against businesses including Euro Car Parks and Marks Electrical, so this is not an empty threat.
How the UK compares with the US and Europe
These rules apply only to customers in the UK. Americans do not currently get the same national protections, and the picture there is a patchwork.
| Where | Rule | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | DMCC Act subscription rules: reminders, two cooling off windows, easy online exit | Expected January 2027 |
| US (federal) | FTC “click to cancel” rule | Struck down by a federal appeals court in July 2025 on procedural grounds. The FTC restarted the process in 2026, but no new rule is in force. |
| California | Updated automatic renewal law: express consent, annual reminders, click to cancel | In force since July 1, 2025 |
| New York City | City click to cancel rule | In force since October 1, 2026 |
| Germany | Mandatory online cancellation button | In force since July 2022 |
| European Union | Digital Fairness Act, expected to address subscription cancellation | Proposal expected late 2026 |
The irony is that the UK rules will be enforced against many of the same American companies, such as the big streamers, music services and app makers, that are not required to offer the same treatment at home. It will be worth watching whether some of them simply roll the friendlier cancellation flows out everywhere rather than run two systems.
What you can do now
- Audit your subscriptions. Go through your bank and card statements for the last two months and list every recurring charge.
- Check your phone’s subscription list. Plenty of subscriptions are billed through Apple or Google, which makes them easy to forget. Our guide on how to cancel a subscription on iPhone walks through it step by step.
- Downgrade instead of quitting. If you want to keep a service but pay less, a cheaper tier is often enough. We compared Netflix’s Premium and Standard plans if you want an example.
- Set your own trial reminders until the new rules arrive. A calendar alert two days before a trial ends still beats any law.
From January, UK subscribers will not have to rely on their own memory quite so much. The rules will not make subscriptions cheaper, but they should make it a lot harder to keep paying for something you stopped using months ago.
Sources and further reading
- UNILAD Tech: Sweeping UK streaming law coming into effect
- GOV.UK: Consumers to save around £400 million every year from crackdown on subscription traps
- TLT: DMCC Act subscription regime brought forward
- Mills and Reeve: New subscription rules, are you ready for January 2027?
- Skadden: New York City’s click to cancel rule
- T3: Netflix, Prime Video and more facing a major change in the UK
About this article: GeekBlog covers U.S. technology news, AI, phones, smartwatches and gaming. Every story is written and checked under our Editorial Policy. Spotted a mistake or have a story tip? Contact our editors.
