Spain's rules
My free trial turned into a paid subscription without my clear agreement
The official steps, and a place to count your complaint.
Who this covers
Online or app subscriptions (streaming, software, apps, memberships) where a free or cheap trial became a paid plan and the person says the price or renewal was not made clear. Not general cancellation obstacles (es-subscription-cancellation) or charges from a company the person never signed up with (es-subscription-unauthorised-charge).
Add your complaint
Rantr counts your complaint and shows you others who have it.
No promise of a fix or refund. Do not name private people or include private details. This does not send a complaint to the company.
Your official route
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Save what you were shown and sent
Gather everything about the sign-up: screenshots, confirmation emails, receipts and the charges.
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Cancel now so it does not renew again
You can end it the same way you signed up, with no penalty. The contract must explain how to end it.
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Withdraw from the contract if you are still in time
Deadline: 14 calendar days from the day the contract was made; if you were not told about the right of withdrawal, it ends 12 months after those first 14 days. The company must refund within 14 calendar days of your notice.
For contracts made online or at a distance you can withdraw without giving reasons by any clear statement, or with the model form. According to the EU Court of Justice (case C-565/22, Sofatutor), if the company did not tell you transparently when you signed up that the service would become paid after the free period, a new right of withdrawal has to be recognised once that period ends. The company must refund all payments, by the same payment method.
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Write to the company and keep proof
Deadline: The consumer law, as amended with effect from 28 December 2025, sets a maximum of 15 days from your complaint for the company to answer.
Say you did not clearly agree to pay, ask for the charges back, and point to the order button: if it was not labelled "order with obligation to pay" or similar, you are not bound by the order. Since 28 December 2025 the consumer law requires the ways a company offers for complaints to include at least the channel you signed up with, post, phone and one electronic means. Ask for the complaint's reference code and a written receipt.
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Paid by direct debit? Ask your bank for a refund
Deadline: Within eight weeks from the date the money left your account.
For a SEPA direct debit you authorised, the payments law gives you an unconditional right to a refund from your bank, and the bank cannot refuse it. The only exception is if your contract with the bank says so for a payment you consented to directly with your bank and, where applicable, were told about at least four weeks before. The bank must refund within ten working days of your request.
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No answer or no fix: go to a consumer office
File a complaint with your town's consumer office (OMIC) or your region's consumer authority. If the company is based in another EU country, Iceland or Norway, the European Consumer Centre in Spain can help, provided you complained to the company in writing first and have not gone to court or consumer arbitration.
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Consumer arbitration, if the company accepts it
A Junta Arbitral de Consumo can decide the dispute for free, with a decision as binding as a court ruling. Both sides must agree to it: check whether the company is adhered to the system.
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Last resort: court
Before suing you must have tried to negotiate, and you need written proof of that attempt: for example, proof that the company received your request to negotiate or your proposal. If it does not reply within 30 calendar days of receiving it, the attempt counts as ended without agreement.
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Your written complaint
To: The company's customer service (the channel you signed up with, or post, phone or email)
Must include
- Your name and the email or username of the account
- Date you started the trial and how you signed up (web, app, phone)
- Each charge: date and amount
- That you were not clearly told you would pay after the trial, or did not confirm an order with obligation to pay
- That you cancel the subscription and, if in time, withdraw from the contract
- What you ask for: refund of the charges by the same payment method within 14 days
Keep
- The complaint's reference code and written receipt
- A copy of everything you sent, with the date
- Screenshots of the sign-up and cancellation pages and of your account
- Emails, confirmations and the terms you accepted
- Bank or card statements showing each charge
Your rights
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Online, right before you order, the company must show clearly the price and the contract's duration and termination conditions, and you must expressly confirm that the order means paying. If the button is not labelled "order with obligation to pay" or an unambiguous equivalent, you are not bound by the contract or order.
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For a subscription, the price you are told before signing must include the total cost per billing period.
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Silence is not acceptance: not answering an offer can never be taken as agreeing to it.
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If extra payments were added through pre-ticked options you had to untick, you have the right to get those payments back.
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The EU Court of Justice (judgment of 5 October 2023, C-565/22) ruled that for a distance contract with an initial free period followed by an automatically renewing paid period, the right of withdrawal is guaranteed only once, provided the trader told you clearly, comprehensibly and expressly at sign-up that the service would become paid after the free period. Without that transparent information, the Court said a new right of withdrawal has to be recognised once the free period ends.
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For digital content you withdraw from, you pay nothing if you did not expressly consent to it starting during the withdrawal period, were not aware you were giving up the right, or did not get the confirmation.
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Since 28 December 2025, for distance contracts of fixed duration that renew, the company must tell you 15 days before the deadline to say you do not want to renew, and what happens if you do not cancel.
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Since 28 December 2025 the consumer law says businesses must answer complaints as soon as possible and in any case within 15 days of receiving them.
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In court claims of up to 2,000 euros you can act yourself, without a lawyer or a procurador.
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