The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) and its implications on subscriptions
Whilst the DMCC is in force, the legislation on subscription contracts has not yet actually taken effect. On 20th November 2025 Department for Business and Trade announced that implementation of the new subscription contracts regime will be delayed. The new regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 will not start until autumn 2026 at the earliest. However, it is good for business owners to get ahead and understand what requirements will be coming into force and what needs to be considered.
But based on what we do have in the DMCC so far, if you are looking to start a subscription service for one of the services you regularly provide to your customers, your subscription contract will fall under the DMCC if it fits their definition, which has a few parts.
Firstly, it will be an agreement between a trader and a consumer for the supply of goods, services or digital content by the trader in exchange for payment by the consumer.
Secondly, the subscription itself must be on terms that either automatically renew at full-price or include a promotional discounted period which rolls into full pricing thereafter, unless the consumer actively cancels the contract.
Thirdly, whilst the DMCC is applicable to most types of subscriptions, from food & beverage, and other retail subscriptions, through to online console video gaming subscriptions and other technology subscriptions, some types of subscriptions have been excluded from the regulations – for example, contracts for utilities, financial services, insurance and childcare. But remember – even if these types of contracts are excluded under the DMCC, other consumer laws will continue to apply.
If you’ve already been offering subscription services to my customers to date, the DMCC imposes a number of new requirements for you, but also new rights for consumers, as follows:
- Pre-contract information: Traders must provide clear information as close in time before a consumer enters a subscription contract, to make it clear to consumers what they are signing up to – this should include the timings for when the traders will send renewal reminder notices to consumers;
- Reminder notices: Traders must send reminders at key points which include:
- before a trial comes to an end;
- before long-term contracts (12 months or longer) roll onto a new term; and
- roughly every 6 months for rolling monthly contracts.
The renewal information must be more prominent than any other information given at the same time, and the exact timings of the reminder notices given by the trader must be reasonable to ensure the consumer is aware of their liability and has an appropriate opportunity to consider whether to end the subscription.
- Simple cancellation: Traders must make it easy for consumers to cancel their subscriptions by providing straightforward exit routes, without any unreasonable hurdles. If a consumer can sign up online, they must be able to exit online.
- Cooling-off rights:
- Initial cooling-off period: Consumers now has a 14-day cooling-off period from the date the contract is entered into (or for the supply of goods, from the date the goods are first received) to cancel the contract. On cancelling the contract, the consumer may be entitled to a refund as set out by the regulations.
- Renewal cooling-off period: Consumers also have a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel a subscription when they become liable for a ‘relevant renewal’ – which in practice means either at the end of an initial free or concessionary period, or when a long-term subscription contract (being at least 12 months) is set to renew.
This means that if a subscription contract term is shorter than 12 months, traders won’t have to offer a renewal cooling-off period.
As with the initial cooling-off period, on cancelling the contract, the consumer may be entitled to a refund as set out by the regulations.
Cooling-off rights are more onerous for traders under the DMCC than they are under the existing CCRs (which only apply to distance contracts and off-premises contracts), because they will apply even if the consumer signs up to the subscription contract in store.
So it’s important to be aware that the DMCC captures a wider group of contracts.
We’ve also received a lot of queries from clients on cooling-off rights, and in particular how these link to consumers’ refund rights. One question we’re commonly asked is whether, if a consumer exercises its cooling-off right and cancels a subscription contract, they are entitled to a refund.
This is a topic the Government consulted on back in late 2024-early 2025. As a general point, we know that the Government is keen to ensure that consumers should not lose a right they currently have in the CCRs even if they gain rights elsewhere.
We are still awaiting details of the consultation but the Government has considered various options for refunds depending on whether the subscription contract covers goods, services and/or digital services.
For example, the Government is alive to the dangers of offering digital content for free during a cooling-off period – you can easily imagine the potential abuse by consumers who sign up for a streaming subscription, binge watching content and then cancel for a full refund. This is why the CCRs require that traders do not begin to supply digital content before the end of the CCRs’ cooling-off cancellation period unless a consumer expressly consents for this to happen and acknowledges that their right to cancel under the CCRs will be lost.
Stay tuned for further details on how this, and the wider subscription contracts regime, will continue to evolve.
What’s Next?
In our upcoming video series, we’ll also delve into
- Fake Reviews – What constitutes a fake review and how to avoid penalties.
- Drip Pricing and Enforcement – Understanding pricing transparency and the CMA’s new enforcement toolkit.
Stay tuned for practical insights and actionable guidance to help your business navigate these changes in the DMCC Act confidently.
