UK PM Andy Burnham ends 'subscription traps' to ease cost of living amid persistent inflation

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to tackle rising living costs amid UK inflation. 

As reported by The Guardian, Burnham announced an accelerated crackdown on "subscription traps".

The first of the PM’s “everyday fixes” will include banning of misleading or fake discounts and making it easier to cancel unwanted subscriptions.

The prime minister said his government would step in wherever it could as he sought to put the "cost of living" at the heart of his premiership.

“We won’t be able to solve every frustration overnight,” he wrote. “But where the government can save people money, remove an unnecessary obstacle or simply make something work better, we should and we will.”

Under the crackdown against additional subscription charges, the government will ban misleading pricing practices that retailers use to make discounts appear better than they really are, including fake “was” prices, invented reductions and misleading recommended retail prices.

The average person has about three subscriptions and spends about £500 a year on them, according to government figures.

There are about 155m active subscriptions across the UK, and about £1.6bn a year is spent on unwanted ones.

The changes are intended to stop retailers inflating the price of an item before cutting it to give shoppers the false impression they are receiving a bigger discount.

Burnham wrote, “If something is advertised as half price, it should actually be half price. We’ll make sure that when families snatch a deal, they can be confident they’re actually saving. That’s the least they deserve when budgets are so tight.”

The government is speeding up new protections against subscription traps, bringing forward their introduction from next spring to January.

Downing Street hopes the measures can be implemented as soon as possible.

The rules will force businesses to provide clearer information when people sign up, regularly remind customers about their subscriptions and make it easier for them to cancel.

Customers will also be given a 14-day cooling-off period after a trial ends or a long-term contract renews.

Burnham wrote, “Too many companies want you to sign up in seconds but then make it feel impossible to leave. It’s exhausting."

Moreover, ministers estimate consumers will save an average of £14 a month for each unwanted subscription they are able to leave early.

The enforcement rules accelerated from previous schedules, will formally take effect in January 2027.