According to the UK government, consumers are spending approximately £1.6 billion each year on subscriptions they no longer use or need. This includes services rolled over from free trials or auto-renewals that individuals forgot to cancel.
Since this news broke at the end of last year, the government has planned to crack down on the issue by introducing key consumer protection enhancements, which are set to come into place as early as spring 2026 – exactly a year from now. This Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act (DMCC Act) outlines rules that will concern traders offering subscription contracts, and aims to protect Brits from unwanted subscriptions that don’t have clear cancellation methods or renewal notices.
Because of unclear terms and conditions, nearly 10 million of the 155 million active subscriptions in the UK are classed as ‘unwanted’, which amounts to £1.6 billion a year country-wide. Also, according to government findings, an estimated 3.6 million of those subscriptions are likely the result of being rolled over from free trials, and 1.3 million are due to sneaky auto-renewals.
So, is your bank account being hit hard by forgotten subscriptions, overpriced or duplicated streaming service costs or auto-renewals you thought had ended months ago? Don’t lose money by waiting until the crackdowns come into place next year. There are relatively simple ways to check and manage your apps and subscriptions today….
The problem: We’re all juggling more subscriptions than ever before — from Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime, to gym apps, meditation subscriptions, cloud storage, gaming passes and more.
The trouble is, once the free trial ends and the payments start rolling out each month, it’s scarily easy to lose track of what’s still active. Many banks list these payments so vaguely as a ‘direct debit’ or ‘Apple Pay’ that you barely notice them draining away. Left unchecked, it means hundreds of pounds a year trickling out of your account without you realising. In fact, A 2024 YouGov survey showed the average UK adult spends £39 a month on subscriptions — that’s just under £500 per year
The solution: You don’t need a complex spreadsheet or hours of detective work to track them down. Apps like Emma automatically scan your bank accounts and credit cards, flagging every single subscription and recurring payment you have. They’ll show you where your money’s really going — and even highlight subscriptions that have quietly gone up in price without your notice.
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The problem: When streaming first became a thing, having one or two services made sense. Now, with Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Discovery+, and dozens of niche add-ons, many of us are paying for 4–5 streaming services — and still struggling to find something good to watch. What’s worse, the costs have crept up. In 2025, some of us are splashing out over £80 a month on TV and streaming without even realising — that’s almost £1,000 a year. To make matters worse, long-standing customers tend to pay the most, with incentives being dished out for new customers only.
The solution: Comparison sites like Uswitch make it easy to see if you could be paying less. You can compare TV bundles, streaming packages and broadband deals– and many new bundle offers now include free streaming subscriptions, slashing your overall spend.
The problem: We’ve all signed up for a free trial, thinking we’d remember to cancel it within the week or month, but how often do you forget? Before you know it, that £4.99 or £9.99 monthly payment is quietly draining your account without you realising. Subscription companies bank on you forgetting, so you want to change that fast to avoid paying for something you don’t use.
The solution: Smart apps like Emma and Cleo not only show you your subscriptions, they also alert you when a free trial is ending or when a subscription price goes up. You’ll get push notifications, giving you time to cancel before you’re charged, instead of relying on memory or digging through emails. Having an app like this to do all the work for you is great, and it also helps you with your general spending, saving and staying on top of your finances.
However, if you’re looking for a free way to remember to cancel an app, you can always set a time alert on your phone’s reminder settings at the time of sign-up.
From mid-2026, new protections under the UK’s DMCC Bill are expected to come into effect, aiming to crack down on the hidden costs of subscription services. Under the new rules, companies offering subscriptions– from streaming services to fitness apps– will be legally required to make it crystal clear when a free trial is about to turn into a paid plan. They’ll also have to offer easier, faster cancellation methods, putting an end to confusing small print and tricky opt-out processes.
For consumers, this is a big step forward. However, with the changes still months away from becoming law, millions of Brits remain at risk of quietly losing money to subscriptions they no longer use or want. Until then, looking into it now is the best defence. Using subscription-tracking apps to spot forgotten payments, comparing streaming packages and cancelling unused services could save you hundreds of pounds a year.
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