The free trial ended. The payments didn't.
By the Reminder Tracker team
UK · Subscriptions · 5-minute read
Position checked: 19 September 2026
Rachel signed up to watch the detective series everyone at work was talking about. She watched three episodes, went away for the weekend and forgot both the murderer and the subscription.
The payments remembered her.
She's fictional. The experience is familiar enough: a free trial becomes a monthly bill, or an annual membership renews while you're busy doing something entirely reasonable, like having a life.
The UK's new subscription rules are intended to make those moments less costly. Here is what the changes could look like from the sofa, rather than the legal department.
First, when is this happening?
The government's announcement of 9 August 2026 says the new rules will come into force in January 2027, bringing forward the earlier spring 2027 timetable. As we write in September 2026, these are upcoming protections.
The examples below describe the intended experience once the rules apply to a covered contract. Check the latest official implementation guidance before relying on a particular right; a government announcement isn't a substitute for the commencement and transition rules.
A trial should come with a clear explanation of the bill afterwards
Picture Rachel joining a streaming service with a seven-day trial. Before she signs up, she ought to be able to spot what happens next: the trial ends, the price becomes £10.99 a month, and payments continue unless she cancels. That is an invented price, but a very ordinary decision.
The new regime requires clearer information before someone enters a subscription, including the ongoing payment commitment, relevant prices and how to end it. The Act's explanatory notes describe the information businesses must provide.
For a merchant, that means looking carefully at the sign-up page. Can a customer understand the offer while reading it normally, on their phone, without opening a treasure hunt of small-print links? A sensible implementation would put the trial price and subsequent price together, with the relevant dates and cancellation route nearby.
For Rachel, it means being able to make a small, informed choice before the first episode starts.
A reminder while there is still something to decide
Another example: a language-learning subscription is about to renew for a year. The customer used it enthusiastically before a holiday, then somewhat less enthusiastically after discovering that “two coffees, please” covered most of the trip.
A useful renewal reminder gives them a chance to decide whether another year is worth paying for.
Businesses will have to send reminders at specified points, including before free or discounted trials end and before qualifying long-term renewals. They must also make cancellation straightforward, with an online way out where the customer signed up online. The government's overview sets out these changes.
In practice, merchants will need to connect their billing dates to their reminder process and test the journey from the customer's side. A notice should help someone find the price, the decision date and the next step. “Exciting news about your membership” is a rather coy way to announce another year's bill.
Some businesses already do this well. Others will have work to do in their checkout, emails, account pages and customer support.
Leaving should fit into an ordinary day
Imagine joining an online fitness subscription in two minutes during lunch, then needing a weekday phone call to leave it. Lunch is now a queue, hold music and a rapidly cooling sandwich.
Under the planned rules, an online sign-up needs an online exit. That doesn't mean every subscription becomes a rolling monthly contract, or that a minimum term disappears. It means the cancellation process should be straightforward when the customer can end the contract. The government explains the planned exit requirements here.
A practical merchant review would try cancelling on a small phone screen, check that the request reaches the billing system, and make the final service date clear. Customers should know whether they have finished the job. They shouldn't need to keep taking screenshots just in case.
A chance to act after certain renewals, too
The planned new renewal cooling-off period gives customers 14 days to cancel after a trial rolls into payment, or a contract renews for 12 months or longer. It isn't a fresh 14-day window after every ordinary monthly payment. The government outlines the renewal right.
Suppose Rachel notices an annual subscription charge a few days after renewal. Where that new right applies, she could still act within the cooling-off period instead of assuming she has to keep the next year's subscription.
Refunds need care: the government's planned approach allows proportionate refunds for services and digital content supplied during a renewal period. Goods have different return rules. This isn't a promise of a full refund for everything already used. The consultation response explains the refund approach.
Nor does every recurring bill fall under this regime. There are exclusions, including regulated utilities and financial services such as insurance. The Act's explanatory notes cover the exclusions.
What we'd put in a subscription reminder pack
Better notices from merchants should help. A personal reminder gives you somewhere to make the decision at a time that suits you.
A possible Reminder Tracker pack could start with four small jobs:
- When you join: record the trial end date, the price afterwards and the cancellation deadline stated by the provider.
- Before that deadline: decide whether you actually want to keep it.
- If you cancel: complete the provider's process and keep its confirmation.
- Afterwards: check that the subscription ended and any expected refund arrived.
Choose a review date with enough room to act; the day a payment leaves may already be too late to avoid it. And mark the reminder as done after dealing with the provider. Ticking a box in a reminder app doesn't cancel a contract.
At Reminder Tracker, we want that review to feel manageable. You might keep the music, cancel the unused fitness app and decide the coffee delivery is absolutely earning its place. The point of the review is to make those decisions deliberately.
Rachel may even finish the detective series. If she does, she'll finally have something to contribute when the conversation at work resumes.
Examples and prices are illustrative. The subscription pack described here is a possible pack, not a currently available named pack. Check current official guidance and your contract for the rules that apply. Illustrations are AI-generated; no real customers are depicted.