24th October 2024
Britain must follow America’s lead in introducing a mandatory ‘click to cancel’ rule, to make it far easier for consumers to end subscriptions. It must also end automatic renewals made without consent, argues the leading UK e-commerce delivery expert Parcelhero. It says the UK’s own planned laws are too little and will arrive too late.
The UK must follow America’s lead in introducing a simple ‘click to cancel’ law banning the multiple steps consumers often encounter when trying to end subscriptions. The leading e-commerce expert Parcelhero says Britain’s own new subscription laws don’t go far enough and are being unnecessarily delayed.
Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘Americans caught in a nightmare loop trying to cancel their subscriptions to membership-style retail services, TV streaming channels, gym memberships etc, will soon find themselves freed from these traps. That’s because US trade lawmakers this month introduced new legislation enforcing “click to cancel”, which will make it easy for people to end subscriptions and harder for them to be sucked into accidental memberships at online checkouts.
‘Crucially, US businesses, including retailers and gyms, will also have to get consent from customers before renewing subscriptions or converting free trials into paid memberships.
‘America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “click to cancel” rule will become law in the US in around six months. It’s true that, back in May, the UK did introduce our own Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024, requiring businesses to provide clear information to consumers before they enter a subscription agreement and ensure shoppers can “easily” end a contract. However, this legislation lacks a simple online “click to cancel” rule and there’s no obligation on retailers to obtain consent to continue a subscription after a free trial or intro offer.
‘Furthermore, the UK-based international legal expert Dentons has warned that: ‘‘Given the fairly onerous nature of these requirements, the government indicated earlier this year that this regime will not come into force until spring 2026 or later.” This begs the question: why will the UK’s own, weaker legislation take so long to become enforceable when American businesses will have to conform to tougher rules in just six months?
‘Clearly, that’s a long time to wait for Brits currently stuck in a vicious subscriptions circle. In addition, the DMCC needs to be beefed up to make it a legal requirement for Brits to actively agree to a subscription renewal, rather than just receive a reminder, which all too often ends up in our Junk folders. The new US legislation also means American businesses will be banned from forcing customers to go through a chatbot or an agent to cancel subscriptions originally made online. Sadly, the UK’s plans are not so specific.
‘Britain’s new DMCC Act does mean, however, that consumers will be warned before taking out a subscription that the business might change its prices and will be clearly told how to terminate their subscription, plus any required notice period. The Act will also require a 14-day cooling-off period and the issuing of renewal reminders and so-called “termination rights”, enabling consumers to easily end a contract by giving a "clear statement" of their intention to terminate.
‘That is all better than nothing but falls far short of the new US legislation insisting on simple “click to cancel” requirements and ending regular subscription renewals without active consent from consumers. There are many other examples of differences between UK and US consumer laws. The US is Parcelhero’s biggest individual overseas market. For expert advice on UK-US shipping and retail fulfilment, including useful frequently asked questions (FAQs), help for exporters and prohibited items details, see: https://www.parcelhero.com/en-gb/international-courier-services/usa-parcel-delivery
ENDS