Cancel a subscription or contract in France: when you can leave, and how

Which contract type, which way out?

Each row gives the earliest exit that needs no particular reason, what you still owe and the text that says so.

What is my earliest exit date?

Four answers, taken from your own contract. The result is an exit category with an indicative date computed in your browser; it is neither a promise that leaving is free nor the company’s agreement.

Can I cancel before the end of my commitment?

Yes with a legitimate ground set by the contract or by statute, backed by proof. Otherwise you leave at the renewal date, or from the end of the twelfth month for a committed plan. The online cancellation form must include a field to state that ground and to tell you which documents to produce (Consumer Code, article D215-2). A contract signed at a distance less than fourteen days ago falls instead under the withdrawal right of article L221-18.

How does three-click cancellation work in France?

A "cancel your contract" button on the company’s site, a summary page to check, then a confirmation. The function is free and cannot require you to create an account. Since 1 June 2023 a company that lets consumers conclude contracts electronically must provide that function (Consumer Code, article L215-1-1). Its wording, its fields and the confirmation step are set by articles D215-1 to D215-3.

My contract renewed on its own: what does the Chatel law change?

The company had to remind you of the deadline between three months and one month before it. Without that reminder you can end the contract free of charge, at any time since the renewal. The reminder must come as a dedicated letter or email showing the deadline to refuse renewal in a visible box; advances paid after the renewal are refunded within thirty days (Consumer Code, article L215-1).

When can I cancel my French car or home insurance?

At any time after one year of cover, with no fee or penalty; cancellation takes effect one month after the insurer receives your notice. The right covers car, home, affinity policies and health-expense cover (Insurance Code, article L113-15-2). Inside the first year you leave at the annual renewal, with notice sent at least two months before it (article L113-12).

What does leaving a committed phone plan cost?

For a contract signed since 1 January 2023, nothing after the end of the twelfth month, unless the handset was subsidised: then at most 20% of the amount still due. The quarter of the remaining instalments still quoted everywhere belongs to the version that applies to contracts signed before 1 January 2023 (Consumer Code, article L224-28, as amended by law no. 2022-1158 of 16 August 2022). A commitment longer than twenty-four months remains prohibited.

Gym membership: which early-exit grounds are accepted?

The ones your general terms list, most often moving out of the area, job loss, illness or a lasting injury, each with the matching dated proof. No general statute fixes that list for gyms: it comes from the contract, which must reproduce the tacit-renewal rules in full (Consumer Code, article L215-4). The online cancellation form must carry a field for the ground and say which documents to attach (article D215-2).

Does switching electricity or gas supplier cost anything?

No. No fee can be charged simply because you switch, and the cancellation takes effect on the date you choose, at the latest thirty days after your notice. A switch happens as fast as possible and within twenty-one days, and the old contract ends automatically when the new supply starts (Consumer Code, article L224-14). The closing invoice arrives within four weeks and any overpayment is refunded within two weeks (article L224-15).

How do I prove that I really cancelled?

With the confirmation the company must send you on a durable medium, stating the date the contract ends; keep the summary page and your references too. Confirming receipt and stating the end date and the effects of the cancellation are compulsory (Consumer Code, article L215-1-1). By post, the acknowledgment of receipt of a registered letter plays the same role as proof of date.

The direct debit continues after cancellation: what now?

Report the debit to your bank and revoke the mandate, then claim the refund from the company in writing, quoting the end date of the contract. An unauthorised payment operation must be reported without delay and at the latest thirteen months after the debit date (Monetary and Financial Code, article L133-24). Advances paid after the last renewal are refunded within thirty days and, failing that, carry interest at the statutory rate (Consumer Code, articles L215-1 and L241-3).

The company refuses my cancellation: what can I do?

Send a written, dated complaint, then refer the matter free of charge to the médiateur de la consommation (the sector’s consumer ombudsman); a court remains possible afterwards. Every consumer has the right to use a consumer ombudsman free of charge, and the trader must guarantee effective access to one (Consumer Code, article L612-1). Keep your cancellation request: it fixes the date you are arguing for.

When is it worth asking Julie?

To locate your renewal date inside unreadable general terms, to write the cancellation with the right articles, and to answer a refusal or an exit invoice. The contract outranks whatever customer service says: the notice period, the deadline to refuse renewal and the accepted grounds are written in it, and those are the lines to quote in the letter.

Have the contract or the last invoice?

What this page is built on

What should you check before continuing?

A cancellation is won on dates and proof of sending, not on a phone call to customer service.