You always enter into a contract or subscription for a fixed period of time. Many consumers think that the contract ends automatically after this period, but this is often not the case. In fact, if you do not take action yourself, a contract or subscription is tacitly renewed. There is then no longer a fixed-term contract, but an open-ended contract. A company does not have to inform you of this, which is why it is called a tacit extension. Wondering what rules apply to the tacit extension of contracts and subscriptions? On this page, we tell you all about it.
Business contracts and tacit renewal
Contracts you conclude as a consumer may be tacitly renewed at the end of the term for a certain period. For business contracts, the situation is slightly different. While self-employed people are often protected by the Dam Law, this does not apply to other companies. They usually have to abide by the general terms and conditions related to the subscription. These often state what the duration is, when cancellation is possible and how long in advance they must do so.
You can cancel by telephone, but there is a chance that the employee will try to persuade you not to cancel. If you can withstand this, then cancelling by telephone is useful because it is considerably faster than cancelling in writing. If you want to stay out of the discussion on the phone, you can also cancel in writing. Take into account a processing time of up to 30 days. Haven't heard anything after 30 days? Contact our customer service and we will call you right after!
The tacit renewal of contracts and subscriptions
If, as a consumer, you want to get out of a contract or subscription, you have to cancel it yourself. Don't you do this? Then a tacit extension will take place at the end of the term. To prevent this from happening, here we tell you exactly how tacit renewal and cancellations work for different products and services.
Lotteries
Do you play the National Postcode Lottery, State Lottery or Lotto? Then your subscription will be tacitly renewed after the fixed period if you do not cancel it. After this renewal, you can cancel a lottery at any time. The notice period may not exceed 1 month.
Good causes
Do you no longer wish to donate to Oxfam Novib, the Dutch Heart Foundation or KWF Kankerbestrijding? Then you must stop your donation. The big advantage of cancelling charities is that there is no notice period. This allows you to stop an automatic donation to a charity at any time.
Insurance
A new insurance policy often has a term of one year. Do you want to get out of the insurance after this period? Then you have to cancel your insurance. If you don't, the contract will automatically be converted into an open-ended contract. Insurers like AEGON, Centraal Beheer and Chubb European Group are allowed to extend your insurance with a maximum of 1 month each time. From the first extension, you can cancel insurance on a daily basis. Please note that a notice period of 1 month applies.
Fitness and gyms
Do you want to cancel your gym membership? Then you have to deal with a notice period. If Basic Fit or Fit for Free has tacitly renewed your subscription after the first contract period, you can cancel it at any time. A notice period of 1 month will then apply. When you are still in the first contract period, you can only cancel your subscription at the end of this period.
Newspapers and magazines
Cancelling a newspaper or magazine is subject to different rules from the others we cover in this list. A subscription to the Telegraaf, Het Parool or Libelle can be renewed tacitly for a maximum of three months. If you cancel your subscription within this period, a notice period of 1 month applies. However, the subscription will continue until the date on which the tacit renewal ends.
Television and internet
Do you have television and internet from Ziggo, UPC or KPN and want to get out of your subscription? Then you have to cancel your television and internet subscription. Within which period this can be done depends on the status of your subscription. After an initial renewal, you can cancel at any time. A notice period of 1 month then applies. Has no tacit renewal taken place yet? Then cancellation is only possible at the end of the subscription period.
Energy
You can cancel an energy contract at the end of its term if it is a fixed-term subscription. Has Budget Energie, Essent or SEPA Green tacitly renewed your contract one or more times in the interim? Then you can cancel your contract any day. Incidentally, do not think that your contract will also be terminated immediately, as a notice period of 1 month applies.
Online services
Many Dutch people nowadays subscribe to online services such as NPO Plus, Netflix, Videoland and/or Spotify. Do you barely use one or more of these services? Then you can cancel online services to save money. If it is an open-ended subscription, you can cancel it today. Your subscription will then end in 1 month. If it is a fixed-term subscription, you can only get out of this after the agreed period.
Pay and borrow
Do you own a credit card? Then you have taken out a subscription for this. If you no longer want to use your credit card or simply want to get out of your subscription, you will probably want to cancel it. You can cancel a Visa World Card, ANWB VISA and ING Credit Card free of charge after 1 year. For these pay and borrow services, a notice period of 2 weeks rather than 1 month does not apply.
Rental agreement
Do you want to leave a rental property? Then you must terminate your rental contract your rental contract cancellation. To do this, send a registered letter to the landlord. In most cases, you will also be faced with a notice period when terminating a tenancy agreement. There is often a minimum notice period of 1 month. The maximum notice period of a rental contract is 3 months. You can give notice at any time. If you have agreed a minimum rental period with the landlord, the rental contract only ends when this rental period has ended.
Employment contract
An employer must terminate a temporary employment contract if he does not want it to be renewed. He must do this before the contract expires. Does an employer not hear from you and you as an employee still come to work after the expiry date? Then the contract is tacitly extended for the same period as the previous agreement.
You can always cancel your subscription with . Keep in mind that there may be a contract period when you take out a subscription. After this initial period, subscriptions can always be cancelled with a maximum notice period of 1 month. More and more organizations are taking a flexible approach to this. For example, you can almost always cancel charities and car insurance daily. Let's hope that more and more organizations will follow this good example!
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