Subscription Contracts: Right to Cancel

Lord Bird Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for that. It is precisely what we are doing. We are taking our time to consider the consultation and we are analysing the responses. We must get this right. As I said, charities have to comply with current consumer protection regulations. As it stands, most charities, perhaps because they do not understand the implications of the Act, have been claiming gift aid, even though their membership may be for a provision of services. We need to ensure that HMRC and the DCMS work through the technicalities so that we are not caught in the loophole that the noble Lord mentioned.

[Lord Bird (CB)]

Is the Minister actually asking for reluctant subscribers to stay with a service just because it is a charity? I find that really difficult to understand. We have to think of that person who goes in, looks at something, says, “I don’t really want to be a part of this”, and chooses to leave. They should have a right to do that.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

Every consumer has a right to do that under current consumer protections. They have a cooling-off period of 14 days to cancel that subscription if it is a distance subscription. Under the new Act, if the subscription is taken up or renewed in person, the cooling-off period is extended to 14 days, so consumers will have the right to cancel or stay within the subscription.