Cancel · Works anywhere
Cancelling a contract or a subscription
Ending a commitment, on the right date, with proof that you asked. This letter names the contract, sets the end date and asks for written confirmation.
This page gives the shape of a letter, the words that fit and the public references attached to it. It does not tell you what to do about a particular case, and it does not replace the opinion of a qualified professional. The blanks marked in the letter are for you to fill in.
When this letter fits
- A subscription, a service contract or a membership has to end.
- The contract provides for a notice period, and you want the start of that period to be provable.
- A cancellation asked for by telephone or through a form was never confirmed in writing.
When it does not fit
- The contract has already ended and the organisation keeps invoicing: that is a challenge to an amount.
- You want to cancel because the other side failed to perform and to obtain a refund: start with the complaint, which puts that failure in writing.
- You are trying to find out when you may cancel: ask first for a copy of the contract and its terms.
The letter, in full
The passages that are marked are the blanks to fill in. Paragraphs carrying a condition are written only in the case stated: the workshop does that sorting, or you do it by hand.
your town, the date
Subject: Cancellation of contract to be cancelled
Reference: your file number
Dear Sir or Madam,
By this letter, I am cancelling contract to be cancelled.
If “The date you took it out” is filled inThis contract was taken out on date you took it out.
If “The date the cancellation should take effect” is “At the end of the notice period set by the contract”I am asking you to give effect to this cancellation at the end of the notice period set by the contract, and to confirm to me in writing the exact end date applied.
If “The date the cancellation should take effect” is “On a date I set”I am asking you to give effect to this cancellation on end date requested, and to confirm that to me in writing.
If “The date the cancellation should take effect” is “As soon as possible”I am asking you to give effect to this cancellation on the earliest date the contract allows, and to confirm to me in writing both that date and the rule that determines it.
If “The reason, if you have one to give” is filled inreason, if you have one to give
If “Is payment made by direct debit” is “Yes”As payment is made by direct debit, I am asking you to stop the debits from the end date, and to refund any sum taken beyond it.
If “Equipment to be returned, if any” is filled inRegarding the equipment: equipment to be returned, if any I am asking you to tell me in writing how to return it, and to give me a receipt when I do.
Finally, I am asking you to send me a final statement, and to confirm to me in writing the end date of the contract and the closure of the account.
This letter is being sent with proof of posting retained: that proof is what dates my request.
Yours faithfully,
your first name and surname
Enclosures
- A copy of the contract, if you have it.
- A copy of the latest invoice, which carries the customer number.
- Proof of an earlier cancellation request that had no effect, if there was one.
The questions to answer
- The contract to be cancelled
What it is and its number, as they appear on the contract or on an invoice.
Example: subscription no. 4471-C to the telephone service - The date you took it out optional
Useful where the contract has a minimum term or an anniversary date. Leave empty if you do not have it. - The date the cancellation should take effect
- At the end of the notice period set by the contract: You let the contract work out the date, and you ask to have it confirmed to you.
- On a date I set: You know your notice period or your anniversary date and you name the date.
- As soon as possible: You ask for the earliest date the contract allows, and you want it in writing.
- The end date requested If “The date the cancellation should take effect” is “On a date I set”
- The reason, if you have one to give optional
Often unnecessary: a cancellation at term needs no justification. A reason is only worth writing if it opens a particular right, or if it saves a follow-up. - Is payment made by direct debit
- Yes: The letter will then ask for the debits to stop on the end date.
- No: Nothing to ask for on that side.
- Equipment to be returned, if any optional
A box, a card, a key, a meter. Ask what the procedure is rather than improvising it.
What to ask for, precisely
- Written confirmation of the end date: without it, the cancellation exists only in your memory.
- The final statement, so you know what is still owed or what has to be refunded.
- The debits stopped on the end date, asked for by name.
- The procedure for returning the equipment, and a receipt when you do.
- Closure of the account, so that no invoice comes back six months later.
The documents to attach
- A copy of the contract, if you have it.
- A copy of the latest invoice, which carries the customer number.
- Proof of an earlier cancellation request that had no effect, if there was one.
The deadline
The end date is the contract's, not yours: the notice period sets it. What you set is the time allowed for confirming that date to you, and two weeks is enough. The date that counts afterwards is the date this letter was sent, because that is when the notice period starts running.
After sending
- Keep the copy of the letter and the proof of posting until the final invoice, and for at least a year afterwards.
- Check on your bank statement that the debits really do stop on the date announced.
- If the organisation keeps invoicing after the confirmed date, the next step is a challenge to an amount, resting on the written confirmation.
The legal grounds
This template belongs to the universal core: it invokes no national law, so it has no legal reference to cite. Its strength lies elsewhere, in how precise the facts, the dates and the request are. If your country has a text that strengthens this step, it lives in a country module, separately and by name.