The ASA has ruled on how the pricing for a health and
fitness app subscription was presented.

An ad for the app featured pricing information. Text stated,
“Pay monthly £7.99” and “Pay once £79.99
(Annual)”. A button stated, “Buy now” under each
option, which linked through to a checkout page.

Four complainants challenged if the ad made it clear that the
subscription was for a minimum term of 12 months.

Team RH Fitness Ltd t/a Team RH believed the pricing and
12-month commitment for their monthly plan were both clearly
presented on their website and did not mislead consumers. They
sought to rely on their terms and conditions which consumers had to
accept before paying.

The ASA considered that consumers would understand the claims
“Pay monthly £7.99” and “Pay once £79.99
(Annual)” to mean they had the option to pay either
£7.99 on a rolling monthly basis, or a one-off annual payment
of £79.99. In particular, it thought that consumers were
likely to interpret the £7.99 monthly option as something
they could cancel at any time.

However, the £7.99 price was subject to a minimum
commitment of 12 months. In addition, to download the app,
consumers were asked to waive their right to a 14-day cooling off
period. This meant that consumers who selected the monthly plan
were committed to a minimum total payment of £95.88. This was
significant information that consumers needed upfront to make an
informed decision about whether to proceed with the
subscription.

The pricing page did not make any reference to the 12-month
minimum commitment. It was only presented in small subtext beneath
the payment button. Even though consumers had to accept the terms,
the ASA said that the existence of a minimum term was significant
and should have been clearly stated on the pricing page itself,
rather than after clicking through to the checkout.

Because the ad did not make clear that the minimum period for
the subscription was 12 months, the ASA considered that the ad was
misleading and told Team RH Fitness Ltd t/a Team RH to ensure that
they did not mislead consumers by omitting to mention that the
subscription was for a minimum period of 12 months.

This ruling comes against the backdrop of the new Digital
Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA), which
introduced new provisions about pricing in April this year. The CMA
also recently consulted on certain aspects of price transparency,
which included new draft guidance on the pricing of subscription
contracts. An example in the guidance that is relevant to this
ruling concerned an annual gym membership. The example says that a
gym might offer an annual membership for £70 a month with a
£30 one-off joining fee. The price of this membership could
be advertised as “£70 per month for 12 months, plus a
£30 joining fee (Total price for a year: £870)”.
The guidance said it would also be lawful for the price to be
presented as “12 months Membership: You pay £100 for the
first month, then £70 per month for the remaining 11
months”. The difference here is that it makes clear that you
have to pay for the entire year.

When advertising a subscription product, it is vital to make
sure that pricing options are clear to consumers, and that it’s
also clear if there’s a minimum term, and how long it is.
However, it is important to remember that the DMCCA also introduces
new rules on the sale and auto renewal of subscription contracts
that are due to come into force around Spring 2026. We are
currently waiting for the final guidance on how those rules will
operate, especially to deal with the situation where a consumer
cancels a subscription contract during the cooling-off period but
has used the service in some way during that time.

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