Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, announced a ban on "subscription traps" to protect consumers from hidden fees [1].
The measure aims to provide relief to households struggling with the cost-of-living crisis by removing predatory billing practices [1, 3].
Subscription traps occur when companies make it difficult for customers to cancel services or automatically renew contracts at higher costs after an initial discount period ends [1, 2]. Under the new rules, companies will be required to make the cancellation process simple and transparent [1, 2]. This ensures that consumers can exit agreements without facing undue hurdles, or hidden charges [2].
Burnham said the move is intended to ease financial pressure on residents by preventing companies from locking users into unwanted payments [1, 3]. The initiative targets the gap between signing up for a service and the ability to terminate that service, a process that some firms have intentionally complicated to retain revenue [2].
While some reports erroneously attributed these actions to the Prime Minister, the initiative is led by Burnham in his capacity as Mayor [1, 2]. The crackdown focuses on the practice of "easy in, hard out" subscriptions, where the sign-up process takes seconds but cancellation requires lengthy phone calls, or complex digital forms [2].
By bringing forward these rules, the administration seeks to create a fairer marketplace for digital and physical services [3]. The effort reflects a broader push to regulate how companies manage recurring payments in the United Kingdom [1].
“The measure aims to provide relief to households struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.”
This move signals a shift toward stronger consumer protections against 'dark patterns'—user interface designs intended to trick users into taking actions they did not intend. By targeting the asymmetry between signing up and canceling, the policy aims to reduce the financial leakage of low-income households who may be unable to navigate complex cancellation loops.
