Website Subscription & Long Distance Selling

[ZebbyUK]

If you subscribe to a website and feel it's not what you want/right for you how does the long distance selling thing come into it if at all?

I've cancelled after two days but instead of refunding me they've taken the cut off time for another 28 days after I paid and I won't be using the website again.

Any advice please?

[Old_Geezer]

Tell your bank to stop paying the direct debit ?

[Buenchico]

The Distance Selling Regulations no longer apply; they've been replaced by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Those Regulations give you the right to a refund on unused services but if the subscription was offered on a monthly basis, and you used the service for just day (or even less), then the first month's subscription has been 'used' - meaning that you have to pay for the full month.

It's also worth noting that the Regulations won't apply to services provided by sites outside of the UK.

[ZebbyUK]

Six month subscription. Don't like the services so stopped using so technically I have 5 months that WILL be unused.

Can I get a refund on these now and have the service terminated?

[Buenchico]

I doubt it.

The contract is probably similar to the ones which many people have with mobile phone services or with their ISPs, where the customer agrees to a minimum term. (e.g. if you sign up to get your broadband from a particular company with a minimum contract period of 24 months, you've got to keep on paying throughout that period even if you've no longer got a computer or any device capable of connecting to the internet).