Subscriptions, renewals and your rights

How these subscriptions are usually structured

The common pattern across the category has four parts. A discounted first term, frequently twelve months. Automatic renewal enabled by default. A renewal price that is higher, sometimes considerably, than the introductory one. And a renewal charge taken from the stored card shortly before the term ends, usually preceded by an email notice.

None of that is improper in itself. It becomes a problem when the renewal price is hard to find at the point of sale, when the renewal is difficult to cancel, or when the notice arrives so close to the charge that there is no practical opportunity to decide. Those are the aspects to check before buying, not after — the comparison entry lists them as questions with locations for the answers.

Consumer guarantees

Goods and services supplied to consumers in Australia come with automatic guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. In broad terms, they require that what is supplied is of acceptable quality, matches its description, and is reasonably fit for a purpose the supplier said it was suitable for. Digital products and software are covered, and the guarantees operate independently of any warranty or policy a business offers of its own accord.

Two consequences are worth holding on to. A term in a policy cannot remove a consumer guarantee: wording that purports to exclude them does not achieve it. And where a product fails to meet a guarantee, the remedy available depends on how serious the failure is — a minor problem may be met with a repair or replacement, while a major failure gives the consumer the choice of a refund or a replacement. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission publishes guidance on consumer rights and guarantees and is the regulator for this area.

Misleading conduct

Australian Consumer Law also prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce, and prohibits false or misleading representations about goods and services — including about price. In this category that reaches claims about what protection a product provides, about a discount that is not genuine, and about a price presented in a way that obscures what will actually be charged.

This applies to publishers as well as vendors, which is why this site does not state prices it has not verified, does not publish test results it did not obtain, and does not describe features of a product it has not been given details about. The product entry is written to that standard, and its list of unverified items is there for the same reason.

Before you buy

• Find the renewal price, in AUD, and treat it as the real price of the product.
• Confirm the subscription term and whether renewal is automatic by default.
• Locate the cancellation control in the account area and note how it works.
• Check the refund window and what triggers it.
• Keep the purchase confirmation email, which is your record of what was agreed.
• Take a screenshot of the price and terms shown at the moment of purchase. It costs nothing and it resolves most later disputes.

If a renewal charge appears unexpectedly

1. Confirm the charge is genuine. Check your own bank statement and sign in to the vendor’s account portal by typing its address yourself. Fake renewal notices are a common scam, covered in the entry on fake alerts, and the number in the email is the thing to ignore.
2. If it is genuine and you no longer want the product, ask the vendor for a refund and to cancel future renewals. Put it in writing so there is a record.
3. Turn automatic renewal off in the account settings, separately from the refund request. Cancelling one does not always cancel the other.
4. If the vendor declines and you believe a consumer guarantee applies, say so specifically and explain why.
5. If it remains unresolved, your state or territory consumer protection agency handles individual consumer disputes; the ACCC publishes guidance and takes reports about conduct.
6. A card chargeback through your bank is available in some circumstances and has time limits. It is a route, not the first step.

Trials, bundles and pre-installed software

A trial that requires card details is a subscription with a delayed first charge, and it should be read as one. The date the trial converts is the date to note in a calendar, because the conversion is the decision point and it will otherwise pass unremarked.

Security software also arrives pre-installed on new laptops under an arrangement between the manufacturer and the vendor. Those bundles are ordinarily short trials, they begin counting from first use rather than from purchase, and they convert in the same way. If you did not choose the product, deciding whether you want it is worth doing in the first week rather than discovering it through a charge months later.

The same caution applies to extras bundled into a suite. A password manager, a backup allowance or a VPN included in a price is only value if you would otherwise have paid for it, and some of those components are also the parts that disappear at renewal or move to a different tier.

Privacy, which is a separate set of rights

Security software necessarily processes information about your device and, in most products, sends some of it to the vendor for reputation lookups — described in the entry on how detection works. Handling of personal information in Australia is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, regulated by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which publishes the Australian Privacy Principles and handles privacy complaints.

Whether a particular overseas vendor is subject to the Act depends on its circumstances, and that is a question for the OAIC rather than for us. What you can do in every case is read the product’s privacy documentation before installing, and check what the settings allow you to turn off.

Where to go, by question

This entry describes general consumer protections and is not legal advice. For advice about a particular situation, the regulators above and your state or territory consumer protection agency are the appropriate starting points.