New laws will make it easier to cancel subscriptions and get refunds for unwanted auto-renewals, the government has said.

A crackdown on "subscription traps" could save the average person nearly £170 a year, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

Consumers will no longer have to make "endless phone calls" to cancel a subscription, and they will be given a 14-day cooling off period after the end of a trial period, or when an annual subscription automatically renews.

The laws will enable people to cancel subscriptions "with the click of a button", the DBT said.

Firms will also have to give customers reminders when a free or discounted trial is about to end, or when contracts that are a year or longer are about to be renewed.

The 14-day cooling off period will allow people to get a "full or proportionate refund" if they forget to cancel after a free trial, or the subscription auto-renews.

The changes could save the public a total of £400m a year, the DBT said.

Kim was notified that her free trial of AVG, the anti-virus software was about to end.

she said trying to cancel the subscription was "exasperating". "It took quite a lot of time to wade through all the pages, all the information that was presented when you first clicked onto the 'unsubscribe' part on the website. "Eventually I clicked on the right options to get an online form to request a refund. I completed this but did not receive my refund. " When she did speak to a support agent Kim said she was told "the form that I'd sent in is basically disregarded by them, that you have to speak to them through the support centre to get your refund, which was really annoying". "I had to keep repeating that I just wanted a refund, as she was very persistent in pushing the products available, trying to get me to change my mind. "

"These new rules will help put consumers in the driving seat with proper transparency and protection," she said

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