You signed up for a gym, a streaming service, a software subscription, or some other recurring-billing product. Now you want to cancel. The business has made it impossible — phone lines that go nowhere, email replies that never come, “cancellation requests” that need to be made in person at a specific time, or contract terms that lock you in for years with no exit.
Several Australian laws come into play here, and they’re stronger than these businesses want you to know.
The legal position
- Unfair contract terms — Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), terms that are unreasonably difficult to invoke (like cancellation processes that no consumer could realistically follow) can be void. Courts have struck down gym lock-in contracts and obstructive cancellation processes specifically.
- Direct debits — If you’ve cancelled but the business is still charging your card or bank account, that’s an unauthorised transaction. Your bank can reverse it under the ePayments Code.
- Misleading conduct — Sales staff who told you cancellation would be “easy” but didn’t disclose actual cancellation requirements may have engaged in misleading conduct under the ACL.
- Cooling-off periods — Some sales (door-to-door, telemarketing, some unsolicited consumer agreements) come with mandatory cooling-off periods even after you’ve signed.
Why a Cease and Desist works
A formal Cease and Desist letter does three things at once:
- Demands the business stop charging you from a specific date
- Demands a refund of any charges taken after your cancellation request, or any unconscionable charges since you started using the service
- Notifies the business that the unfair contract terms will be reported to your state’s Fair Trading authority and potentially the ACCC if not resolved
Most subscription businesses fold quickly. They know unfair contract terms cases are bad publicity, that the ACCC has been actively litigating gym chains and streaming services, and that the cost of fighting a single consumer claim outweighs the lost revenue.
The bank-side fix that runs in parallel
While the C&D goes out, contact your bank or card provider. Tell them the merchant is charging you without authorisation and request a chargeback or direct-debit reversal. Most banks act on this within a few business days. The C&D handles the underlying contract issue; the bank action stops the bleeding immediately.
What Claim Done’s C&D covers
- The contract details (signup date, monthly amount, what you signed up to)
- The cancellation requests you’ve made and how they’ve been obstructed
- The specific ACL provisions on unfair contract terms
- Demand to cease all charges from a specific date
- Demand refund of unauthorised charges
- Notice that Fair Trading and ACCC will be notified if not resolved
- Deadline (typically 14 days)
Flat $79. Sent on your behalf to the business.