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Click-to-cancel readiness check

Ten questions on how your sign-up, renewal and cancellation journey lines up with the new UK subscription rules. About two minutes, one question at a time, and you do not need to give an email address to see your result. It is general information, not legal advice.

1. Have you worked out which of your plans are subscription contracts, and which customer contracts are entered into from the start date?

The Act covers contracts with an automatically recurring or continuing supply, and trials that roll into a paid plan. The draft guidance says the rules apply to contracts entered into from the start date, not to existing ones, even when they renew.

2. Have you checked whether any of your contracts fall within the exclusions in Schedule 22?

A contract of a description set out in Schedule 22 is an excluded contract and sits outside the subscription rules. The draft regulations would amend and add to that list.

3. Do you give customers the key subscription information before they commit?

The Act sets out key and full pre-contract information that must be given or made available.

4. Does your online sign-up end with a clear step where the customer acknowledges that they have to pay?

The Act has a rule about the final online step before the customer is bound.

5. Do you have reminder notices ready for renewal payments, and for the first payment after a trial?

The Act has rules on when reminder notices are sent, what they contain and how they stand out. The draft regulations add that a reminder must be given in writing on a durable medium, and tie the first reminder for a fixed-price introductory period to the first payment at a higher price.

6. Can customers end a subscription in a straightforward way, and online if they signed up online?

The Act requires straightforward exit arrangements, including an online way to end an online sign-up. The draft regulations say a customer may end the contract at any time.

7. Do you send an end-of-contract notice that states the end date?

The Act requires a notice when a contract ends, and says what it must state. The draft regulations add that this information must be more prominent than anything else given at the same time.

8. Do you know when a cooling-off right applies: the initial 14 days, and certain renewals such as the first payment after a trial?

The Act gives a right to cancel in an initial cooling-off period and in some renewal cooling-off periods. The draft regulations extend a cooling-off period, by up to 12 months, where the cooling-off information or notice was not given.

9. Can you give a cooling-off notice for each renewal cooling-off period, explaining the right to cancel?

The Act requires a cooling-off notice for each renewal cooling-off period. The draft regulations add that it must be given in writing on a durable medium and explain the consequences of cancelling, including any refund.

10. Do you have a process to refund what is owed when a contract is cancelled or ends?

The Act requires an overpayment to be refunded after a cancellation or ending. The draft regulations set out how much is refunded, and how, when a customer cancels in a cooling-off period or for a breach of the implied terms, including where goods were supplied.

This check counts how many of ten preparation points you say you have looked at. It is general information about what the Act says, not legal advice, and it does not tell you whether your business complies. Check the official source and take professional advice before acting on it.