Lloyds to offer subscription cancellation service

SnowTiger

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-8517129/Lloyds-announces-app-service-let-customers-cancel-subscriptions.html: 

Millions of Lloyds Bank customers who signed up for new subscription services during the coronavirus lockdown will be able to cancel them in their banking apps under a new service.

Britain's biggest bank, which also runs Halifax and Bank of Scotland, will launch the service over the next few months after a pilot.

The bank's 11million mobile customers will be able to view the subscription services they've signed up to in one spot and cancel them with three clicks.

It said customers could also sign up for notifications telling them when the price of their service increased, or when they were due to be billed.

It said customers could also sign up for notifications telling them when the price of their service increased, or when they were due to be billed.

[...]

Many banks already let customers view, manage and cancel direct debits and standing orders through their mobile apps, but this is not the case with subscription services despite their booming popularity.

[...]

Plans proposed by the payment provider Mastercard in January 2019 would have required subscription service providers to alert customers that their free trials were coming to an end, gain their consent before they billed them for the first time and make it easy for them to cancel any service.

Both Mastercard and Visa offer similar services in the US - but in Britain, customers must go themselves through their bank or the subscription service itself.

I don't think this service is related to COVID-19, despite it being shoehorned in to the opening paragraph.

The text draws a distinction between direct debts and reoccurring payments (subscription services): 'Many banks already let customers view, manage and cancel direct debits and standing orders through their mobile apps, but this is not the case with subscription services despite their booming popularity.'  This suggests LLoyds will allow customers to see a list of continuous payment authorities on their account.

Cancelling a DD or CPA with your bank doesn't necessarily cancel the contract with the service you've subscribed to.  It's difficult to see how this system will work without cooperation from subscription services themselves.

colsten

SnowTiger said:

Cancelling a DD or CPA with your bank doesn't necessarily cancel the contract with the service you've subscribed to.  It's difficult to see how this system will work without cooperation from subscription services themselves.

As you say, you could say the same for DDs - we can stop DDs with our banks and the DD recipient won't be able to draw any further money. We may still owe money to the DD recipient, however, as the cancellation of the DD does not cancel the contract for the service. The DD recipient will no doubt be in touch with the customer if they believe they are still owed money.

I suppose the cancellation of a CPA would work along similar lines. Lloyds/VISA will just not pay any longer, and the subscription provider would have to pursue the (ex-)subscriber separately for any money for any money they believe they are still owed. Presumably VISA/Mastercard keep some information about recurring authorisations?

I think this sounds really promising news, and I hope other banks will also offer this service before long.