Subscription Contracts Compliance Check

Why this matters

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 introduces a comprehensive new regime for subscription contracts in the UK, with rules coming into force throughout 2026. The legislation is designed to eliminate “subscription traps” — practices that make it easy to sign up but deliberately difficult to cancel. Businesses that sell recurring services to UK consumers — whether software, content, box deliveries, or memberships — must now provide clear pre-contract information, send renewal reminders at set milestones, and make cancellation no harder than sign-up. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the primary enforcer and can impose fines of up to 10% of a business’s global annual turnover.

The rules apply to any contract that automatically renews or rolls over, regardless of price point or frequency. Key requirements include disclosing the renewal date, billing frequency, and total cost before the consumer commits; giving a cooling-off period for new subscriptions; sending timely renewal reminders so consumers can cancel before being charged again; and providing a straightforward, single-step cancellation mechanism. Businesses that fail to meet information requirements face the consumer being entitled to cancel immediately and receive a full refund, potentially extending back 12 months from the date of non-compliance.

What you'll need

• List of subscription or recurring payment products/services your business offers to UK consumers
• Your current sign-up flow and pre-contract disclosure wording
• Your existing cancellation process and where it is documented
• Details of how and when you communicate renewal dates and billing to existing subscribers

What you'll get

A personalised compliance report covering: a score out of 100, an executive summary, a list of findings ranked by severity, and a prioritised action plan with timeframes.