Subscription Traps: How to Cancel and Get Your Money Back
Subscription traps, also called dark patterns or negative option billing, are tactics that make it difficult to cancel recurring payments or that continue charging you after you believe you have cancelled. Under UK consumer law, businesses have clear obligations around subscription transparency, cancellation rights, and what happens to your money after you cancel. This guide explains your rights and how to stop unwanted subscriptions.
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What makes a subscription contract unfair?
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, subscription businesses must:
- ✓Make the recurring nature of the subscription clear before you sign up, not buried in small print
- ✓Clearly show the price, what it covers, and how often you will be charged
- ✓Provide clear cancellation instructions, they cannot make cancellation intentionally difficult
- ✓Not continue charging after you have cancelled (within your cancellation window)
- ✓Send a reminder before a free trial converts to a paid subscription (for subscriptions entered since April 2024, Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2025 incoming reforms)
- ✓Not use pre-ticked boxes to sign you up for additional subscriptions
Your right to cancel, the 14-day cooling-off period
If you signed up for a subscription online, by phone, or away from the company's premises, you usually have a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel without giving a reason:
- ✓The 14 days starts from the day after you sign up (or receive the confirmation, whichever is later)
- ✓You do not need to give a reason, just notify the company that you are cancelling within 14 days
- ✓The company must refund you within 14 days of the cancellation
- ✓If the company failed to tell you about your cancellation rights, the 14-day period can be extended by up to 12 months
- ✓Exception: if you expressly asked for the service to begin within the 14-day period, you may owe a proportionate payment for what was provided
- ✓Exception: digital content that has already been downloaded or streamed, where you gave your consent for immediate access
How to cancel a subscription that's hard to cancel
Free trials that convert to paid subscriptions
Free trials that automatically become paid subscriptions are a common source of complaints:
- ✓You must have been clearly told the trial would convert to a paid subscription, vague small print is not sufficient
- ✓If the company did not clearly disclose that your card would be charged after the trial, any charges may be recoverable
- ✓The 14-day cooling-off right applies to the paid subscription that begins after the trial, but only if the trial itself was within the 14-day window
- ✓Chargeback: if you were charged without adequate notice of the trial ending, you can chargeback the payment on the grounds of the charge not being clearly authorised
- ✓Under incoming DMCC Act 2025 rules: companies will be required to send a reminder before a free trial converts, and to make cancellation easy during that reminder notice period
Getting your money back
Routes to recover money from subscription traps:
Gym memberships, special rules
Gym contracts have specific rules under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Unfair Terms guidance:
- ✓If you signed up for a rolling monthly gym membership, you should be able to cancel with one month's notice
- ✓Longer minimum-term gym contracts (e.g. 12-month minimums) may be enforceable, but only if you were clearly told about the minimum term before signing
- ✓You may be able to cancel a gym contract early for specific reasons: serious illness or injury (with medical evidence), relocation more than a set distance from the gym, significant change in the service offered
- ✓CMA guidance (from OFT guidance it replaced) says gym contracts cannot prevent members from cancelling in circumstances of genuine hardship or if the gym has materially changed the service
- ✓If the gym has been closed for a period (e.g. pandemic closure), charges during closure should be refundable
Reporting subscription traps
- ✓Citizens Advice: report traders, they pass information to Trading Standards
- ✓Competition and Markets Authority (CMA): the CMA has taken enforcement action against companies using dark patterns in subscriptions (report at gov.uk/cma)
- ✓Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): if the subscription is a financial product (insurance, credit, investment), report to the FCA
- ✓Action Fraud: if you believe you were scammed (not just a difficult-to-cancel legitimate subscription), report to Action Fraud
- ✓Which? Scam Sharer: report subscription scams to help warn other consumers
Get instant help right now
A Citizens Advice appointment can take weeks. Our free assistant is available 24/7 with no appointment, giving you clear, step-by-step answers about your exact situation, what to do next, and the deadlines that matter.
Need to take action? It can draft a ready-to-send formal letter for you (optional, from £4.99).
England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my money back if I was charged after cancelling a subscription?
Yes, if you have evidence that you attempted to cancel and the company continued charging you, those charges are recoverable. Use chargeback (within 120 days of each charge) for card payments, contact your bank and explain the subscription was cancelled but charges continued. If payment was by direct debit, your bank can cancel the mandate immediately under your instruction.
How do I cancel a continuous payment authority (CPA)?
A CPA (recurring card payment) can be cancelled by instructing your bank directly, you don't need the company's cooperation. Call or write to your bank and ask them to cancel the CPA. Under Payment Services Regulations 2017 and FCA guidance, your bank must cancel the authority if you instruct them to, even without telling the company. Any charges after your instruction to the bank may be chargeable back.
Do I have a right to cancel within 14 days?
Yes, for subscriptions signed up online, by phone, or away from the company's premises, you have a 14-day cooling-off period starting from the day after sign-up. You can cancel without giving a reason and receive a full refund (subject to deductions if you asked for the service to start immediately). If the company failed to tell you about this right, the period extends by up to 12 months.
The company makes it impossible to cancel online, is that legal?
No, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, a business must provide a clear means of cancellation and cannot make cancellation intentionally difficult. The incoming Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2025 will impose further requirements for simple, easy cancellation. If a company makes cancellation unreasonably difficult, you can cancel in writing by email and report the company to Trading Standards or the CMA.
My gym won't let me cancel, what can I do?
If you are within a minimum-term contract, you may have limited rights to cancel early unless you have a genuine reason (illness, relocation, significant change to the service). However, if the gym did not make the minimum term clearly obvious before you signed, the term may be unenforceable as unfair. If the gym has materially changed its service or had prolonged closures, you may have grounds to cancel. Contact Citizens Advice for advice on your specific gym contract.
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