Notice & Demand: templates and forms

A written cancellation, sent to a bank in Cyprus, of a standing order or a direct debit from your account. It names the account, the payee and the mandate or reference number, asks that nothing be debited from the date you set and that the cancellation be confirmed in writing, and is copied to the payee, because a direct debit mandate is cancelled with the payee too. An authorised direct debit can be refunded if asked within 8 weeks, and an unauthorised one within 13 months.

For a subscriber to a gym, magazine, streaming service or club in France who wants to stop. As you choose: cancellation at the end of the term with the contract's notice; free cancellation at any time when the business did not remind you, one to three months before the end of the term, of your right not to renew (the loi Chatel, Article L. 215-1 of the French Consumer Code); or cancellation for a legitimate reason the contract provides for. For a subscription taken out online, the 'cancel' button is often quicker. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.

The notice by which a consumer in Romania ends a contract with a phone, internet or TV provider and, if needed, complains about the service. It cites the rules that protect them: an initial term of at most 24 months, termination at any time after it with at most a month's notice, and termination without cost when the provider changes the contract unilaterally. It announces the return of the equipment and asks for confirmation.

For anyone in Italy who wants to end a subscription – gym, swimming pool, magazine, online service – or stop it renewing: the letter gives notice at expiry, withdraws on the contract’s terms or, if a documented illness or injury prevents you from using the service, asks for termination because performance has become impossible (Articles 1463 and 1464 of the Italian Civil Code). Italy has no specific law on gyms: the contract and the Italian Consumer Code’s rules on unfair terms decide. Many providers state in the contract how to cancel. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the company’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.

For anyone in Italy who wants to end an insurance policy – home, accident, liability, health – at expiry so that it does not renew tacitly, or to withdraw from a policy lasting more than five years once five years have passed (Article 1899 of the Italian Civil Code). The notice period is the one the policy sets and counts from receipt of the letter. Motor liability insurance, by contrast, needs no notice: it never renews tacitly. Many insurers also accept cancellation free of charge from the customer area or through the agent. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the insurer’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.

The letter cancelling your motor liability insurance in Austria in the four most common cases: at the end of the insurance year (§ 14 Abs 2 of the Austrian Motor Liability Insurance Act, KHVG) — the anniversary of the policy's start, not necessarily 31 December, with the notice arriving a month before — after a premium increase (§ 14a KHVG), after a claim (§ 158 VersVG), and after buying a used car whose insurance passed with it (§§ 69 ff VersVG). With the policy number and plate. In German, ready to print, sign and send by registered post.

A letter cancelling your German motor insurance with your current insurer: at the end of the insurance year, early after a premium increase or a claim, or after buying a used vehicle whose policy passed to you (§ 96 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG). For all cover or for the comprehensive cover only, asking the insurer to confirm the end date and refund any unused premium. For most policies, a cancellation for 31 December must reach the insurer by 30 November. In German, ready to send.

The notice by which a consumer in Romania ends a subscription — a gym, an online platform, a course, any recurring service: the contract, the notice period and end date, stopping automatic debits, and a refund of payments made in advance for the time after it ends. It notes that a term allowing no way out, or imposing disproportionate penalties, may be unfair (Law no. 193/2000).

A letter cancelling your home-contents, personal liability, legal expenses, buildings, accident or pet liability insurance in Germany: with ordinary notice at the end of the insurance period, within one month of a premium increase (§ 40 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG), after a claim, or, for contracts of more than three years, at the end of the third year (§ 11 VVG) — each time, failing that, for the earliest possible date. It revokes the direct-debit mandate and asks for confirmation of the end date. Motor insurance has a document of its own. In German.

A letter cancelling a gym contract or another running subscription in Germany — a membership, a magazine, a streaming or delivery plan. You give ordinary notice for the earliest possible date, or terminate for good cause under § 314 of the German Civil Code (BGB), such as a lasting illness with a doctor's certificate; you revoke the SEPA direct-debit mandate from the end date and ask for confirmation of it in writing. For contracts since 1 March 2022, at most one month's notice applies after the first term (§ 309 No. 9 BGB). In German.

The request by which an account holder in Romania stops a direct debit or a standing order: the payee, the mandate reference and the date the cancellation takes effect. Under Law no. 209/2019 a direct debit can be revoked until the end of the business day before the debit. The contract with the supplier, though, stays in force and is ended separately.

Your instruction to your own bank in Austria about a direct debit or a standing order: have a SEPA direct debit refunded, dispute a debit taken without a valid mandate, stop an announced debit, bar a payee's future debits or delete a standing order (Dauerauftrag). An authorised SEPA direct debit is refunded within eight weeks with no reason needed (§§ 70, 71 of the Austrian Payment Services Act, ZaDiG 2018), an unauthorised one within 13 months (§ 65 ZaDiG 2018). With payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

A letter to the payee — a gym, insurer, club, mail-order shop or debt collector in Germany — revoking your SEPA direct debit mandate (formerly Einzugsermächtigung). It gives the mandate reference, the creditor identifier and your IBAN, forbids further debits from receipt, and says how payment continues: you will pay by transfer, the contract has ended, or you will pay from another account. Revoking the mandate ends neither the contract nor what you owe. If a debit still arrives, your bank refunds a SEPA core direct debit within eight weeks, no reason needed (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB). In German.

For someone with an account in Spain who wants a company or a person to stop taking payments from it. Two letters: to the bank, revoking that creditor's direct debit mandate (SEPA mandate) so that no further debits are paid; and to the creditor, telling them so and saying how payment will be made from now on, or why the charges are disputed. The revocation applies to debits due after the business day on which the bank receives it (article 52 of Spain's Royal Decree-Law 19/2018). Send them by burofax, by hand against a signed copy or by registered post. In Spanish.

For someone who has revoked a mandate, authorisation or power and wants the bank, company, building administrator or office the agent dealt with to stop acting on the agent’s instructions. The letter gives notice of the revocation and its date, identifies the agent and asks for written confirmation. It goes by burofax with certified content and acknowledgement of receipt, one letter per recipient, with a copy of the principal’s ID. Many Spanish banks have their own procedure to remove an authorised person. In Spanish.

A written request from the account holder to a bank in Cyprus to end the account agreement and close a bank account. It gives the account's IBAN, the closing date and the account the balance goes to, and asks the bank to cancel the cards and end standing orders and direct debits, refund prepaid fees pro rata and confirm the closure in writing. The Payment Services Directive, in force in Cyprus through Law 31(I)/2018, lets a consumer end the agreement at any time, with at most one month's notice.

A letter to your German bank or Sparkasse to refund a direct debit, stop a debit that has been announced, refuse a payee's future debits, or cancel a standing order. A SEPA core direct debit can be reclaimed within eight weeks of the debit with no reason given (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB), and a debit taken without a valid mandate up to 13 months later (§§ 675u, 676b BGB). A standing order or an announced debit can be revoked until the end of the business day before it is carried out (§ 675p BGB). With the payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

Notice ending a personal account agreement with a Polish bank or other payment provider: the account number and contract date, termination of the linked card and service agreements too, the account for the remaining balance, and a request to confirm closure. It relies on the Payment Services Act: notice cannot exceed one month, and closing is free unless it happens within the first 6 months.

For the holder of a mobile, landline, broadband or TV line in Spain who wants to cancel and not be charged any more. The letter tells the operator to end the services two working days after receiving it, asks for the reference number, the closing bill and instructions for returning the equipment, and that nothing be charged afterwards. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves the date from which the operator may no longer bill; you can also use any channel the operator offers. In Spanish.

For the holder of an account with a bank in Spain who wants to close it and not be kept waiting. The letter asks for the account to be closed and the contract ended, the balance transferred to another account, the cards cancelled, new direct debits refused and written confirmation with the final statement. It points out that the holder may close at any time, that the bank must do so within 24 hours, and that it is free if the account is open-ended or over six months old (article 32 of Spain's Royal Decree-Law 19/2018). Hand it in at the branch against a stamped copy, or send it by burofax. In Spanish.

For a private policyholder in France who wants to leave an insurer or mutual insurer. After a year, car insurance and a tenant's home insurance are cancelled by the new insurer, and a policy taken out online can also be cancelled online. This letter offers, as you choose: cancellation at any time, after a year, of another policy, such as supplementary health cover, effective one month after receipt (Article L. 113-15-2 of the French Insurance Code; Article L. 221-10-2 of the Mutual Insurance Code); cancellation at the annual renewal date; or cancellation of loan insurance at any time, with the lender's approval of the new policy (loi Lemoine). In French.

An instruction to a Polish bank cancelling a standing order or withdrawing consent to direct debits for a named payee — a telecoms firm, an electricity supplier, a club or a former landlord — with the account number, the payee's details and payment reference, and if needed a request to refund the last debit within 8 weeks. It reminds the reader that cancellation must arrive by the business day before the debit at the latest.

For a mobile operator, an internet or a television service. Ringing the call centre does not terminate a contract — the request has to be in writing and has to leave a trace of having been made. The notice identifies the contract, the service and the termination date, and asks for written confirmation and a final bill, which is exactly what is missing in a later argument about charges.

For a member of a gym or subscriber to a service in Spain (a platform, club, magazine or monthly box) who wants to cancel and stop being charged. The letter gives notice on the date you choose, recalls that the company must allow cancellation by the same means used to sign up and without obstacles or disproportionate charges (art. 62.3 of the Spanish Consumer Protection Act, TRLGDCU), and asks for confirmation and for no further direct debits. Send it by burofax with certified content, which proves the date. In Spanish.