Require free subscriptions stop after trial & do not take bank details upfront

Closed 77 signatures

What the petition asks

We would like to ask the government to mandate that all free to try subscriptions must not request payment details upfront and that they should terminate at the end of the free term unless the user makes a conscious decision to convert to a full plan - "act to keep going", not "act to cancel".

It is very common for digital subscriptions (music, video, digital services) to require our payment details upfront despite being advertised as free to try. These types of trial subscriptions are then very often automatically converted to recurring subscriptions after the initial trial under what we call "act to cancel" scheme.

We believe this mechanism is predatory and should be stopped.

Timeline

9 Dec 2025	Petition opened for signatures
9 Jun 2026	Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 77

Status Closed

Department Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Opened 9 Dec 2025

Closed 9 Jun 2026

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