New Rules are coming to stop subscription traps catching people out
Have you ever spotted a payment leaving your account for a subscription you had completely forgotten about?
You are not alone. The government has announced new rules designed to make subscriptions easier to understand, manage and cancel, and Citizens Advice has welcomed the move as a step in the right direction.
What is changing?
The government crackdown on subscription traps is due to come into force in January 2027, timed for when many people start new subscriptions for the year ahead.
Businesses will need to make three big changes:
They will have to give clearer information before someone signs up, so people know exactly what they are agreeing to and when it will renew.
They will have to send reminders before a subscription renews, rather than letting it roll over silently.
They will have to make cancelling a subscription just as easy as signing up for one, alongside a new, 14-day cooling-off period that lets people cancel after a free trial ends or after a long-term subscription renews.
Certain charitable memberships for cultural and heritage organisations will be excluded from the new rules, in recognition of the role they play in preserving access to the nation's history and culture.
This is a new announcement, and the government still needs to introduce the secondary legislation and guidance that will set out the fine details of how the rules work in practice. We expect more information to be published in the coming months, and we will keep you updated as it becomes available.
Why it matters
The scale of the problem is significant. The government estimates that consumers currently spend around £1.6 billion a year on subscriptions they do not actually want, out of an estimated 155 million active subscriptions across the UK.
For many households, that is not a small amount. Every pound spent on a forgotten subscription is a pound that could have gone towards food, energy bills or other essential costs. For people who are already managing a tight budget, an unexpected payment leaving their account can tip things into real financial difficulty, particularly when it coincides with other urgent outgoings.
If a subscription is easy to join, it should be just as easy to leave. That is the principle behind these changes, and it is one we support.
What Citizens Advice has said
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, responded to the announcement.
She said that for too long, consumers have been tricked into paying for products or services they do not use, or did not want in the first place, costing millions of pounds each year, and that Citizens Advice welcomes the government's move to speed up action on subscription traps and look at banning other tactics firms use to catch consumers out.
She added that Citizens Advice has raised concerns about this issue for years, pointing to earlier research which found that over 13 million people, 26 per cent of UK adults, accidentally took out a subscription in a year.
She said people should not have to waste time and effort avoiding dubious online tactics and fixing unwanted purchases and sign-ups, and that while today's announcement is an important move, it cannot be the end of the story.
Citizens Advice says it is looking forward to seeing further detail in the upcoming consultation on deceptive online pricing, and how it will ensure consumers are protected and treated fairly.
What this means for you
The new rules will not take effect until January 2027, so it is still worth taking a few minutes now to check your own subscriptions and see whether anything is quietly renewing that you no longer need.
Need help?
Citizens Advice Eastbourne offers free, independent and confidential advice on a wide range of issues, including consumer rights.
If you would like to talk something through, our usual contact channels are available on our website.
Sources
GOV.UK press release – "PM starts roll out of 'everyday fixes' on the cost of living – ending rip-off discounts and subscription traps", published 9 August 2026.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-starts-roll-out-of-everyday-fixes-on-the-cost-of-living-ending-rip-off-discounts-and-subscription-traps
Citizens Advice national press release – "Citizens Advice responds to the government's plans to end rip-off discounts and subscription traps".
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/citizens-advice-responds-to-the-governments-plans-to-end-rip-off-discounts-and-subscription-traps/