UK households to be handed £168 each thanks to 'subscription trap' crackdown

A major crackdown on subscription traps that could save you £168 a year and make it easier to cancel has emerged. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) wants to make it easier for people to cancel unwanted subscriptions and obtain refunds.

Under the new Labour Party government, "subscription traps” are instances where consumers are frequently misled into signing up for a subscription through a “free trial” or reduced price offer. In some cases if the consumer doesn’t cancel the trial within a set amount of time, they are often automatically transferred to a costly subscription payment plan.

Nearly 10 million of 155 million active subscriptions in the UK are unwanted, costing consumers £1.6 billion a year. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "Our mission is to put more money back into people’s pockets and improve living standards across this country, tackling subscription traps that rip people’s earnings away is an important part of that.

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"Everyone hates seeing money leave their account for a subscription they thought they’d cancelled, or a trial that unexpectedly gets extended. We’re looking to hear from as many businesses, consumer groups, and other interested groups as possible to allow us to set fair regulations that stop this corporate abuse of power whilst retaining the benefits of subscriptions for consumers and businesses."

By putting an end to these exhaustive processes and helping consumers take back control of their money, individuals could save on average £14 per month for each unwanted subscription they are able to leave earlier. Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: "We've been raising the alarm for a long time on subscription traps exploiting consumers.

"So we're pleased to see the government's new rules taking up our call for people to be able to exit a subscription as quickly as they signed up for it." Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy, said: "Subscriptions can be a convenient way for consumers to receive products and services, but in recent years, many consumers have been trapped in unwanted subscriptions.

"It's encouraging to see the Government press ahead with much-needed laws to tackle this, which will hand consumers far greater control over the subscriptions they take out."