- The UK government has brought the ban on ‘subscription traps’ forward by three months, so it now takes effect in January 2027 instead of spring 2027.
- Retailers would be barred from using false ‘was’ prices, made-up discounts, or misleading recommended retail prices; a consultation is planned for this autumn.
- The measures are projected to save UK consumers £400m a year, or up to £170 per person.
- The Department for Business and Trade counts 10 million unwanted active subscriptions, more than 3.5 million people rolled from free or discounted trials into paid contracts, and 1.3 million affected by unexpected auto-renewals.
The £400m annual saving is a government projection from April, not a measured outcome, so the actual figure may change once the rules are implemented and enforced. For context, if that total were divided evenly across the 10 million unwanted active subscriptions cited by the Department for Business and Trade, it would come to about £40 per subscription; the government has not given a per-subscription breakdown.