Cancelling phone, gym, streaming and insurance contracts
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Leaving Switzerland, changing provider or just paying for something you no longer use? In Switzerland, most consumer contracts end only if you give notice (résiliation) in the form and within the notice period (délai de résiliation) set in your contract. There is no general cancel-anytime right. This page covers the general rules. For basic health insurance (LAMal) deadlines, see Health insurance (LAMal).
Key facts
- Your contract decides. Notice periods and form (letter, email, online account) are set in the contract and its general terms (conditions générales). SECO advises reading the cancellation terms (form, deadline) before you sign up for any subscription.
- Automatic renewal is generally allowed if it is clearly in the terms. The Federal Council refused in 2019 to require companies to remind customers before a tacit renewal (renouvellement tacite).
- Insurance (non-life): you can always cancel for the end of the third year or any later year, with three months' notice, in writing or another form that leaves a text record (LCA art. 35a).
- Keep proof. Send notice in a way you can prove, and ask for written confirmation.
- Unfair terms: general terms that create a significant and unjustified imbalance to the consumer's detriment are unfair under the Unfair Competition Act (LCD art. 8) (SECO).
1. Before you cancel: find three things
- Minimum term and end date. When can the contract end at the earliest?
- Notice period. How long before that date must the provider have your notice?
- Required form. Written letter, email, online account or phone. SECO lists form and deadline as the key cancellation terms to check.
Save a copy of the general terms that applied when you signed up (SECO).
2. Automatic renewal
Many fixed-term contracts renew automatically unless you cancel in time. In its 2019 opinion, the Federal Council said terms can only become part of a contract if your attention was clearly drawn to them and you could read them, that unusual clauses must be specially pointed out, and that abusive clauses are already unfair under the law. It gave gym subscriptions, antivirus programs and travel insurance as examples of contracts with tacit renewal clauses, and noted that the large mobile providers stopped using tacit renewal clauses in 2014 (Federal Council, 16 Oct 2019).
- Put the last possible notice date in your calendar the day you sign.
- Only a civil court can decide whether a clause is abusive. You can also report it to consumer organisations or to SECO (SECO).
3. Written notice and registered letters
- Registered letter (lettre recommandée) gives you proof of sending and delivery. Use it when the contract asks for written notice or when a deadline is close.
- Put in: your name and address, customer or contract number, a clear sentence that you cancel, the date you want the contract to end, and your signature.
- If the provider offers cancellation in its online account, take a screenshot of the confirmation.
- When notice counts as received: To verify. No official federal consumer page checked states the rule. Plan for notice to have arrived at the provider before the deadline, not just to have been posted, and leave a margin for post and weekends.
4. By contract type
| Contract | What to check | |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile phone | Minimum term, notice; when you port your number the new provider usually cancels for you | Phone and mobile |
| Home internet / TV | Minimum term (often 12 or 24 months), notice period, early termination charges, moving abroad | Home internet |
| Gym and sports | Minimum term, automatic renewal, form of notice; EPFL/UNIL sports are a separate offer | Sports and fitness at EPFL |
| Streaming and apps | Usually cancelled in the account or app store; check the renewal date. Form and refunds: To verify per service | none |
| Private insurance (household, liability, travel) | LCA art. 35a: end of year 3 or later, 3 months' notice, text form; a shorter cancellation right can be agreed if it is the same for both parties | Household and liability insurance |
| Basic health insurance (LAMal) | Special deadlines | Health insurance (LAMal) |
- Life insurance is excluded from the LCA ordinary cancellation right. For supplementary health insurance, only the policyholder can use it (LCA art. 35a).
- Doorstep and phone sales have a separate 14-day withdrawal right: see Warranty and returns under Swiss law.
5. If the company ignores your notice
- Write again, attach proof of your notice (registered letter receipt or screenshot), and ask for written confirmation.
- Do not ignore invoices or debt collection letters; see Budget and debt help.
- Telecom and insurance disputes can go to a free or low-cost ombudsman office: see Ombudsman offices.
- Free legal advice: Free legal advice for students.