14,000 Complaints Lodged as Customers Struggle to Cancel Phone, Internet Services

Australians are increasingly finding it harder to unsubscribe from unwanted phone and internet services, with nearly 14,000 complaints lodged in just two years.

The scale of the problem was revealed during an inquiry into the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026, which introduces new protections against unfair business practices while making it easier for customers to exit their subscription services.

Cynthia Gebert, a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, told the Senate Standing Committees on Economics on June 9 that customers frequently reported confusion about notice periods and difficulty navigating cancellation procedures.

“Between 2023 and 2025 we received almost 14,000 complaints about failure to cancel a telco service,” she said.

“These complaints often involve complex cancellation processes and retention practices that pressure consumers to stay in services they do not want, waste their time, and cause financial and emotional harm.”

The proposed legislation makes it an obligation for companies to provide regular reminders about subscription renewals, straightforward cancellation options, bans “drip pricing,” and “manipulation” of the customer—which may entail creating a false sense of urgency or high pressure tactics.

“The provision of clear information … at sign up is the sort of thing that we’re really supporting here,” said Gebert.

“So that consumers know what they’re getting themselves into at the time that they sign up, as well as how to get out of those sorts of arrangements as well.”

‘Dark Patterns’ Under Fire

Consumer advocates told the inquiry that the issue extends far beyond telecommunication services.

Chandani Gupta, deputy CEO at the Consumer Policy Research Centre, said three in four Australians found it difficult to cancel a subscription, while one in 10 eventually gave up and continued paying.

Gupta said the organisation’s research found 83 percent of Australians had experienced negative consequences from so-called “dark patterns.”

Gupta gave examples of deliberate web and app designs aimed at wearing customers down and pushing them towards decisions they might not otherwise make.

“We’ve all been there, trying to cancel a subscription before. And before you know it, you’re six screens deep,” Gupta said.

She argued that existing consumer laws had failed to keep pace with changes in the digital economy.

“The Australian Consumer Law came into place in 2011 that’s 15 years ago. We can all agree that a lot has changed in that time.”

Gupta told the committee she was speaking on behalf of 20 consumer organisations that had spent years campaigning for stronger protections.

“We have laws that make sure businesses can’t lie to us, and laws that make sure businesses don’t do something truly egregious. But we have nothing in between.”