Section 254Meaning of “subscription contract”

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, a subscription contract is a contract between a trader and a consumer—

• (a)
  for the supply of goods, services or digital content by the trader to the consumer in exchange for payment by the consumer,
• (b)
  to which either or both of subsections (2) and (3) apply, and
• (c)
  which is not an excluded contract (see section 255).

(2) This subsection applies to a contract if it contains terms which have the effect of providing—

• (a)
  for an automatically recurring, or continuing, supply of goods, services or digital content to the consumer for an indefinite period or a fixed period,
• (b)
  for the consumer to automatically incur liability for each supply, or recurring liabilities for the continuing supply, and
• (c)
  a right for the consumer to bring the contract to an end.

(3) This subsection applies to a contract if it contains terms which have the effect of providing—

• (a)
  for a supply of goods, services or digital content to a consumer free of charge, or at a rate specified in the contract (the “original rate”), for a period specified in the contract,
• (b)
  for the consumer to become automatically liable for payments, or payments at a rate higher than the original rate, for supplies after that period (including where the trader has an option to impose a charge or a higher charge after the end of the period), and
• (c)
  a right for the consumer to bring the contract to an end before such liability is incurred.

(4) In this Chapter, references to a consumer’s right to bring a subscription contract to an end are references to a right provided under the contract which—

• (a)
  in the case of a contract for a fixed period, may be exercised to bring the contract to an end before the end of the fixed period;
• (b)
  in any case, may be exercised without the consumer incurring any penalty which is more than nominal,

and include references to a right that is expressed in terms of a right to stop a subscription contract from automatically renewing or continuing or any other similar expression.