Burnham announces huge changes to your subscriptions – here’s how it affects you

Another helping hand

The latest reform to be brought in by Andy Burnham takes aim at subscriptions and the false advertising of prices in shops.

Burnham has had a whirlwind first month in charge of the UK, bringing in a number of changes that target the cost of living and the economy.

In his latest measure to try and ease the strain on people's wallets, Burnham has fast-forwarded a package of reforms which were announced under Keir Starmer and that target "pretend prices" and cut-throat subscriptions which automatically renew at higher prices.

These "pretend prices" are mostly made up of shops hiking prices and then throwing on a large discount to make a product look like good value when it never retailed at such a price in the first place.

Concerning the subscriptions, the government said that businesses will have to "provide clearer up-front information, regular reminders and a much easier exit to contracts" for customers.

How will these changes affect me?

These measures were intended to come into force next Spring, but will now come into play from January 2027.

Burnham said: "I'm determined to pull every single lever we can to provide people with some room to breathe on the cost of living."

When the original move was announced in April, the Department for Business and Trade said there were 10 million unwanted, active subscriptions across the UK.

It added that more than 3.5 million people are being "quietly rolled from free or discounted trials into fully costed contracts".

Meanwhile, another 1.3 million are caught out by unexpected auto-renewals.

The government said the plans would save consumers £400m a year in total, or up to £170 per person.

A consultation will take place this autumn to decide how best to implement the plans.