EVERY year I have an annual battle with the website of a certain American antivirus software company to return funds from a subscription I did not want but that has been ‘auto-renewed’.

This battle revolves around whether or not I can find their ‘unsubscribe’ button which I know must be hidden somewhere in the bowels of their website. After about half an hour of searching and emailing their anonymous helpdesk, I give up and accept defeat.

Hidden subscription charges are infuriating and particularly hurtful to ‘subscribers’ in a cost of living crisis. That is why, once again receiving virtually no publicity whatsoever, I’m delighted that this Labour government is acting on these subscription traps.

Across the UK, there are 155-million active subscriptions – with nearly 10-million of them believed to be unwanted. Over 3.5-million people are being quietly rolled from free or discounted trials into fully costed contracts, whilst another 1.3-million are caught out by unexpected auto-renewals. By making it easier to cancel unwanted services, consumers could save around £14 every month (on average) per unwanted subscription - nearly £170 a year.

New rules, announced last week, will give consumers greater control over their spending, with action to tackle subscription traps. Once the rules come into force, expected to be in spring 2027, consumers will benefit from a raft of changes.

Firstly, Initial cooling-off period refunds will ensure that for contracts covered by the new rules, initial cooling-off rights and refunds are broadly consistent with the existing Consumer Contract Regulations. This includes retaining a waiver for digital content. This will maintain existing consumer protections and provide consistency for both consumers and businesses.

Secondly, renewal cooling-off period refunds will come into force to ensure that for contracts covered by the new rules, consumers have a 14 day period after a trial or 12 month-plus contract auto-renews to cancel and receive a full or proportionate refund. This will ensure consumers are not out of pocket if they miss the auto-renewal date, and proportionate refunds ensure businesses are compensated for the proportion of contract services or digital content supplied.

Next there will be changes to charitable memberships. Certain memberships of charitable, cultural and heritage organisations will be excluded from the new rules given the unique role they have in preserving and opening up access to the nation’s history, landscapes, and cultural collections. There will be further changes to information and notices, ensuring the requirements for these to be coherent and consistent. This will make it easier for businesses to manage them and consumers to make informed decisions and take appropriate action.

Finally, technical operational details will have to be changed to ensure that the consequences and remedies for breaches are fair and that the technical operation of the regime is consistent with the Consumer Contract Regulations where possible. This will ensure a clear, fair and functioning regime that protects consumers from harm and has safeguards, so traders are not unfairly penalised.

These changes will come as a relief to many of us, including me, who dread the annual battle to return funds taken in an auto-renewal subscription.