=== Renewal Notice UK – DMCC Renewal & Subscription Reminders for WooCommerce ===
Contributors: quietworklabs
Tags: dmcc, renewal reminder, subscription reminder, woocommerce subscriptions, uk compliance
Requires at least: 6.2
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 0.2.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

UK DMCC Act renewal reminder and subscription reminder notices for WooCommerce on the statutory schedule, plus key info and easy exit.

== Description ==

The UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) (Part 4, Chapter 2) brings in a new regime for subscription contracts. The draft Consumer Subscription Contracts (Cancellation and Information) Regulations 2026, laid before Parliament in October 2026, set the start date as **1 January 2027**; they still need approval by both Houses, so details can change. The CMA can fine businesses directly for consumer-law breaches. If you sell subscriptions to UK consumers, you will need to:

* send **reminder notices** before renewal payments on a fixed schedule (sections 258–259),
* give **key pre-contract information** before sign-up,
* let customers **end the contract easily, online**, and
* respect the new **cooling-off periods** after sign-up, after a free trial, and after a renewal of 12 months or more.

WooCommerce Subscriptions 6.9+ can already email a reminder before *every* renewal. That has two problems:

* It **over-reminds monthly subscribers**, and every reminder is a prompt to cancel.
* It sends **only one notice for annual plans**, while the Act requires an additional, earlier one.

Renewal Notice UK sends the notices the Act requires, when it requires them, and adds the rest of the regime. It works with **WooCommerce Subscriptions** and with the free **Subscriptions for WooCommerce** plugin by WP Swings, whose renewal reminders are otherwise a paid feature.

* **Reminder notices on the statutory schedule.** Each day it checks active subscriptions and works out which renewal payments need a notice under s.258:
  * for ordinary contracts, the last renewal payment in each six-month period;
  * the first payment after a free trial or introductory price;
  * an **additional early notice** for renewals of 12 months or more (s.259(6)–(8)).
  You choose the advance period, for example 7 days before the last cancellation date, and state the same period in your terms. Monthly, weekly, quarterly and annual billing are all handled, including 31st-of-month dates.
* **Clear emails.** The renewal date, amount, frequency and last day to cancel come first, in a box on their own. A one-click link takes the customer to end or manage the subscription.
* **Log-only mode by default.** Nothing is emailed until you've reviewed the log and switched to "Send emails".
* **Evidence.** Every notice is written to the subscription's notes, with the date and legal basis. The admin screen shows recent notices.
* **Key information box at checkout** above the Place order button whenever the cart contains a subscription.
* **Exit confirmation email** when a customer cancels.
* **Easy-exit instructions shortcode**: `[renewal_notice_uk_exit]`.
* **Readiness checklist** in the admin screen.

The free plugin makes no external requests and sends no data anywhere.

**Important:** this is a tool, not legal advice. Secondary legislation and CMA guidance are still due before commencement and may change details such as the required content of notices. Check your own obligations.

= Pro (optional, paid) =

A separate add-on is sold on our website. It includes:

* CSV export of every notice, for your records,
* editable email templates,
* extra reminder timings, and
* updates as the final regulations and CMA guidance are published.

The free plugin is fully functional without it. Nothing in this plugin is locked, time-limited or waiting for a licence key.

= About us =

Renewal Notice UK is made by Quietwork Labs, which is operated by an autonomous AI agent. A human owner oversees the project. Support: quietworklabs@outlook.com.

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate WooCommerce Subscriptions or Subscriptions for WooCommerce (WP Swings), then this plugin.
2. Go to **WooCommerce → Renewal Notice UK**.
3. Set your business name, contact address and reminder period.
4. Click **Check subscriptions now** and review the log.
5. Switch Mode to **Send emails**.
6. Add `[renewal_notice_uk_exit]` to your help or FAQ page.
7. In WooCommerce → Settings → Subscriptions, allow customers to cancel from My Account.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= When do the rules start? =

The draft Regulations laid in October 2026 say 1 January 2027, and the government's draft guidance (19 October 2026) says the rules apply to subscription contracts entered into on or after that date. Both still need to be finalised, so check the final text before relying on a date.

= Does every renewal get a reminder? =

No. The Act only requires notices for specific payments: the last renewal payment in each six-month period, the first payment after a trial or introductory offer, and an extra early notice for 12-month+ terms. Monthly subscribers, for example, get roughly two reminders a year.

= Which subscription plugins are supported? =

* WooCommerce Subscriptions (WooCommerce.com): reminders, checkout box, exit confirmation, evidence notes on the subscription.
* Subscriptions for WooCommerce by WP Swings (free, WordPress.org): reminders, checkout box and evidence notes on the parent order. That plugin already emails its own cancellation confirmation, so ours is not duplicated. The cancel link points to My Account → Subscriptions.

If both are active, both are checked.

= Will customers get emails as soon as I activate it? =

No. The plugin starts in log-only mode.

= I already use the built-in WooCommerce Subscriptions reminders. Do I need this? =

Maybe not. An honest comparison:

* **Built-in reminders (WooCommerce Subscriptions 6.9+)** are included with that plugin and well maintained. They send one reminder before *every* renewal, at one timing you choose. If you only sell monthly or weekly plans and are happy to remind before each payment, they may already be enough for the reminder part.
* **What they don't do:** they send no additional early notice for 12-month+ terms (s.259(6)–(8)), keep no record of which statutory notice was sent and why, add no key-information box at checkout and send no exit confirmation. They are also not available for the free WP Swings plugin.
* **What this plugin does:** sends only the notices the Act asks for (about two a year for a monthly plan), including the extra early notice for annual plans, and records each one in the subscription notes.

You can keep the built-in reminder on and use this plugin for the extra annual notice, checkout information, exit confirmations and evidence notes. Or turn the built-in reminder off so monthly subscribers get about two reminders a year instead of twelve.

= Does it handle cooling-off refunds? =

No. The checkout box and readiness checklist remind you of the 14-day cooling-off periods, but cancellations and refunds within them are still handled by you and your subscription plugin.

= Is this legal advice? =

No. It is a tool that follows the Act and the draft Regulations as published. Check your own obligations, especially once the final Regulations and CMA guidance appear.

= Does it work outside the UK? =

The schedule follows UK law. You can use it anywhere, but check your local rules.

== External services ==

This plugin does not connect to any external service. It makes no HTTP requests and sends no data to us or to third parties. Reminder and exit-confirmation emails go out through your site's own mail setup (wp_mail), and only once you switch Mode to "Send emails".

The settings screen has a "Details" link to the optional Pro add-on page (https://renewal-notice-uk.quietworklabs.workers.dev/). It is an ordinary link: nothing is loaded from that site unless you click it.

The separately sold Pro add-on is not part of this plugin. It checks its licence key against https://renewal-notice-uk.quietworklabs.workers.dev/api/license, and its own readme documents that.

== Changelog ==

= 0.2.0 =
* Readme: start date updated to the draft Regulations (1 January 2027, subject to Parliament); honest comparison with the built-in WooCommerce Subscriptions reminders; cooling-off and legal-advice FAQs.
* New: support for Subscriptions for WooCommerce by WP Swings (HPOS and classic order storage).
* The reminder email is now built from plain facts, so other subscription plugins can be added.
* Tested with WordPress 7.1, WooCommerce 11.2, Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2.1 and Plugin Check 2.1.0.

= 0.1.1 =
* Settings form: each submitted field is now read and sanitized individually.
* Readme: added an External services section and clarified that the free plugin is fully functional.
* Tested with WordPress 7.1 and Plugin Check 2.1.0.


= 0.1.0 =
* First release: DMCCA s.258–259 reminder schedule, additional notice for 12-month+ terms, checkout key information, exit confirmation, exit shortcode, evidence notes, log-only mode.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 0.2.0 =
Adds Subscriptions for WooCommerce (WP Swings) support. No change for WooCommerce Subscriptions stores.

= 0.1.1 =
Code hardening and readme clarifications. No change in behaviour.
