You want to leave. The company says you need to give three months' notice. UK consumer law does not make every notice period unlawful, but the CMA gives a three-month cancellation clause as an example of wording that is unlikely to be fair in certain circumstances.
Three Months' Notice Is Not Automatically Illegal
There is no simple UK rule saying that a business can never require three months' notice. The question is whether the term is fair, transparent and proportionate in the context of the contract.
The Competition and Markets Authority's guidance gives a particularly useful example: a clause that requires a 12-month minimum period and then requires three months' notice given only after that minimum period has ended. The CMA says that wording is unlikely to be fair because it can force the consumer to pay beyond the minimum period and does not clearly explain the steps needed to cancel.
Look at the Minimum Term and Notice Period Together
Consumers often read "minimum term" and "notice period" as though they were the same thing. They are not.
- Minimum term: the period during which the contract commits you to the service.
- Notice period: how much advance warning you must give before the contract ends.
A notice clause can have a much greater practical impact when it starts only after the minimum term has already expired.
What Makes a Cancellation Clause Potentially Unfair?
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 contains a fairness test. GOV.UK explains that terms may be unfair where they create a significant imbalance to the consumer's detriment, including examples involving excessive cancellation charges, unbalanced rights and price variation clauses.
The CMA's current guidance, updated in July 2026, also explains that wording is more likely to be fair when it is transparent, does not unfairly disadvantage consumers, and gives consumers a genuine opportunity to exit without disproportionate consequences.
What to Document Before Challenging the Term
- Take a copy of the full contract and terms.
- Highlight the minimum-term clause.
- Highlight the notice-period clause.
- Record when the contract started and when the minimum term ended.
- Keep the company's cancellation instructions.
- Record any refusal, fee or additional period the company says you must pay.
How to Challenge a Three-Month Notice Requirement
Do not simply say "three months is illegal." Instead, identify the exact term and explain why you believe it may be unfair in the context of the whole agreement. Ask the company to explain the contractual basis for the notice requirement and how the end date has been calculated.
If the business will not resolve the issue, keep the written correspondence. Depending on the sector and the business, you may have access to an ADR scheme or other consumer enforcement route. A court ultimately decides whether a contract term is unfair in an individual dispute.
What This Means for You
- A three-month notice period is not automatically unlawful.
- Read the notice rule together with the minimum term and renewal mechanism.
- Pay particular attention where notice can only be given after the minimum term.
- Preserve the exact wording and the company's cancellation instructions.
- Use the CMA's fairness guidance as a framework, not as an automatic ruling on your individual contract.
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