PRIME Minister Andy Burnham is set to ban “subscription traps” and fake discounts in “good news for consumers”.
Subscriptions will become easier to cancel and companies will have to make it clearer when contracts automatically renew at a higher price under new consumer protection measures announced by Burnham.
The government also plans to crack down on misleading retail discounts by banning shops from using fake “was” prices, invented discounts and inflated recommended retail prices (RRPs) to make deals appear better value than they really are.
Burnham said the practice misleads shoppers into believing they’re getting bigger savings than they actually are.
The measures were originally announced under Sir Keir Starmer in April but are now being accelerated by Burnham’s government as part of a wider push to give families “more room to breathe” amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
Burnham said: “I know people are sick and tired of rip-off discounts and subscription traps. Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles like this are just part of life. I don’t think that’s right, especially when the cost of living continues to weigh heavily on so many people’s lives. I’m determined to pull every single lever we can to provide people with some room to breathe on the cost of living.
“We’re putting an end to phoney bargains. If something is advertised as half price, it should actually be half price. We’re also making it as easy to leave a subscription as it is to join.”
Good news
Daniel Mohacek, CEO of TruthEngine, said this is a positive step.
He added: “Bringing these protections forward is good news for consumers. Subscriptions should be simple and transparent. People should know what they are signing up to, what they will pay, when a contract renews and, crucially, be able to leave just as easily as they joined.
“But businesses shouldn’t see this as simply a change to subscription rules. It is part of a much broader transformation of consumer protection under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. From fake and misleading reviews to hidden fees, questionable pricing promotions and deliberately difficult customer journeys, regulators are looking increasingly closely at whether consumers are being treated fairly throughout the entire buying experience.
“The message for businesses is clear. It is no longer enough for the headline offer or the terms and conditions to be technically correct. You need to look at how the whole customer journey works in practice, including the reviews customers see, the prices and discounts they are shown, what happens when a free trial ends and how easy it is to cancel.
“The direction of travel is towards greater transparency, greater accountability and much stronger consumer protection. Businesses that get ahead of that now won’t just reduce their regulatory risk. They should also build greater trust with their customers.”
Harvey Dhillon, Founder & CEO at Zmartly, said faking prices is unfair to competitors.
He added: “The shop that never faked a ‘was’ price has spent years losing to the one that did. That is the half of this story nobody tells. My reaction is that the crackdown is welcome, but watch the date. These subscription rules were expected in spring 2026, slipped to autumn 2026, and are now expected in 2027.
“Stopping pretend prices is the more important half, and part of it is already law. Drip pricing, the fee that appears at checkout, has been banned since April 2025, and the CMA issued its first fines, of £4.2 million, in April 2026. A made-up RRP is the same trick at the other end of the sale.
“One more thing nobody has said. None of this protects a business. That same shopkeeper, buying an auto-renewing card terminal contract, gets no easy-cancel right and no cooling-off period, because this law protects consumers, not firms. Price honestly, and read what you have signed up to.”
Sneaky
Kate Underwood, Founder & Chief People Strategist at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said the government is right to target “sneaky” subscriptions.
She added: “It’s good news for workers. A sneaky subscription isn’t an annoyance, it’s a pay cut nobody agreed to. Money worries don’t stay at home, they walk in every Monday, sit at the desk and never shut up. When someone’s pay is already stretched, a subscription they can’t cancel, or a ‘deal’ that was never a deal, quietly robs them.
“Then it shows up as sick days, mistakes and people quietly checking out. People aren’t begging, they just want to keep the money they already earned. If a business needs a hidden trap to hold onto you, it never deserved you.”
Harry Goodliffe, Director at Winchester-based HTG Mortgages, said the government is the one being sneaky.
He added: “Companies didn’t come up with sneaky price rises, the Government did. Every household already knows what a subscription trap feels like – they’ve been living with one since income tax thresholds were frozen and inflation quietly dragged more of their income into higher tax bands.
“So it’s a bit different watching ministers crack down on gyms and streaming services for the same trick they’re pulling themselves. That said, banning fake ‘was’ prices and confusing renewals is straightforward and overdue; shoppers have been getting hit by hidden discounts for years.”
Darryl Dhoffer, Founder at Bedford-based The Mortgage Geezer, said you need to assume the sale price is the real price.
He added: “Ah, the thrilling mystery of the endless ‘Closing Down Sale’, the timeless sofa shop illusion where everything is always 70% off, provided you ignore that it was listed at a fictional £3,000 for five minutes in a dark warehouse last Tuesday. Retailers love a fake ‘was’ price, anchoring our gullible brains into thinking a mediocre bed frame is a genuine bargain. Burnham’s big crusade to ban ‘pretend prices’ and subscription traps?
“Truly revolutionary. It only took us decades to decide that tricking shoppers and holding credit cards hostage isn’t stellar business ethics. So instead of sprinting to the retail park before Sunday’s ‘final’ deadline, just look at the actual frame, ignore the shiny discount tag, and assume the sale price is the real price. Because it normally is.”
