Contract trap · Subscription
Trial silently turns paid
A 'free' or nominal-price trial requires a card up front and converts into a paid recurring subscription at the end of the trial, or an introductory 'first 12 months' price jumps to a much higher 'standard rate' — without a reminder and with the post-promo price disclosed only in a footnote.
- Severity
- Expensive
- How often it turns up
- Almost always
- Holds up?
- Depends where you are
- Clause phrases
- 24
What it looks like in a contract
Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.
In English-language contracts
- free trial
- card required
- you will be charged automatically at the end of your trial period
- after your trial ends, your subscription will convert to
- unless you cancel before the trial ends
- trial then $X/month
- introductory rate
- for the first 12 months
- then $X/month thereafter
- standard rate
- promotional pricing ends
- first month free, then
In Russian-language contracts
- пробный период
- бесплатный период
- первые 30 дней бесплатно
- затем по цене
- по окончании пробного периода подписка продлевается автоматически
- привяжите карту для активации
- стоимость подписки после пробного периода
- акционная цена
- промо-период
- далее по стандартной цене
- по окончании акции стоимость составит
- специальная цена для новых пользователей
Check your own contract
Paste a clause, a page or the whole document. Nothing leaves your browser: the matching runs here, on this page, against the phrases above.
Why it bites
People assume the trial or promo ends on its own; conversion happens at the full price, sometimes to an annual plan, and the first charge is often taken a day early; the jump can be 2-5x and is taken under an existing auto-renewal without fresh consent (satellite/cable, streaming, broadband, antivirus).
Is it enforceable where you are
The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.
In the US, ROSCA and state automatic-renewal laws such as California's ARL apply; in the EU, Directive 93/13 Annex 1(h) and national reminder rules (Germany §309 Nr. 9 BGB, France's loi Chatel) govern renewal.
United States
ROSCA covers free-to-pay conversions; FTC treats undisclosed conversions as deceptive (ABCmouse 2020, Uber One 2025); California ARL (AB 2863, eff. 1 Jul 2025) requires a reminder 3-21 days before a trial longer than 31 days converts and before a promotional period ends; NY GBL 527-a similar; CFPB Circular 2023-01 for financial products.
- Cited
- AB 2863
- CFPB
- FTC
- GBL 527-a
- ROSCA
European Union
CRD Art 8(2): order button must state 'order with obligation to pay'; UCPD misleading omission where the regular price is hidden (ACM NL, DGCCRF FR enforcement); CRD Art 6 total-price disclosure; Digital Fairness Act expected to add trial rules.
- Cited
- CRD Art 6
- CRD Art 8(2)
- DGCCRF
- Digital Fairness Act
- UCPD
United Kingdom
CPUTR/DMCC Act 2024 unfair practices apply to misleading trial framing; CMA principle 2 (claimed savings must be genuine); Ofcom end-of-contract notifications must state what happens to the price; DMCC subscription regime (expected 2027) requires a reminder before a trial converts and a 14-day cooling-off after conversion.
- Cited
- CMA
- DMCC Act 2024
- Ofcom
Russia
Allowed; from 1 Mar 2026 (376-ФЗ) the provider must warn before the first paid charge and accept electronic refusal; ст. 16 п. 3.1 ЗоЗПП bans pre-set consent; ст. 10 ЗоЗПП requires the post-promo price to be disclosed; consumer may withdraw at any time under ст. 32 ЗоЗПП.
- Cited
- 376-ФЗ
- ст. 10 ЗоЗПП
- ст. 16 п. 3
- ст. 32 ЗоЗПП
Where this has actually happened
Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.
- FTC v. Age of Learning / ABCmouse ($10M; auto-renewing memberships and cancellation obstacles, 2020)
- FTC v. Uber (Uber One free-trial enrollment and charges before the billing date alleged; complaint Apr 2025, amended Dec 2025 with states)
- NY AG v. SiriusXM (promotional subscriptions rolling into full-price renewals with obstructive cancellation; 2023-2024)
What to do
In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.
- Note the exact end date and post-trial/post-promo price
- Cancel the day you sign up if the service lets you keep the trial after cancellation
- Use a virtual or one-time card
- Set a reminder 2 weeks before the promo ends to renegotiate or cancel
- If charged, request a refund citing the lack of a pre-charge reminder (required in CA/NY, UK from 2027, RU from Mar 2026).
Traps that travel with it
Drafters who use one of these usually use several.