Step 22 - Cancel Contracts, Subscriptions & Memberships
Last updated: June 2019
Why is this important?
This step helps you structure your approach when evaluating if certain services, subscriptions, policies and memberships continue to be needed or if these can be cancelled to stop unnecessary payments.
simplyEstate is here to help with the process. Contact us via email or book a first free phone appointment.
Approximate Effort & Cost
Reading: 20 mins
Completing: 1-3 hrs
Total: 1:20-3:20 hrs
Cost: $0
Effort and cost are general estimates only and are based on the assumption that you complete this step without specialist help.
Instructions
To find out how this Process Guide works, access the instructions here.
Glossary
22.1 Overview
This step is mainly concerned with cancelling financial outgoings to reduce the outflow of money from the deceased estate for products and services that are no longer required. You will need to:
- determine which of the identified services are no longer required;
- officially cancel subscriptions, policies and any other contracts; and
- cancel related direct debits or credit card payments.
If you completed Step 12 – Notify the Relevant Government Departments, Companies and Organisations, you should by now have had a response with instructions. Always make sure to familiarise yourself with your rights under the terms and conditions of each agreement and your State/Territory’s consumer laws.
Contents
22.2 Utilities
22.3 Communication (Telephone, Internet, Mobile Phone)
22.4 Media (Newspapers, Magazines, Paid TV)
22.5 Insurance Policies (Home, Health, Car etc.)
22.6 Lease Agreements
22.7 Other Common Services
22.8 Consumer Laws
22.9 Actions and Decisions to Complete Step
22.2 Utilities
Determine if utilities such as water, electricity and gas are still needed at the deceased person’s residence. Follow the instructions provided by the utility company in response to your notification as outlined in Step 12.
If the deceased owned the home, you may continue paying the standard connection fees or check with each provider what options are available to reduce the ongoing costs to a minimum.
If the deceased leased a property, then all utility companies should be notified by you or the agent to stop incurring charges once the lease contract is terminated.
If a real estate was or will be transferred to the surviving joint owner, then that person is responsible to pay for utilities.
22.3 Communication (Telephone, Internet and Mobile Phone)
All contracts for the landline, internet and mobile phone can be officially cancelled immediately or transferred into another person’s name.
The most common providers are:
- Telstra
- Optus
- Vodafone
- Virgin mobile
- iinet
- BigPond
Follow the instructions provided by the communication company in response to your notification as outlined in Step 12 – Notify the Relevant Government Departments, Companies & Organisations.
If a real estate was or will be transferred to the surviving joint owner, then that person is responsible to pay for telecommunication services.
22.4 Media (Newspapers, Magazines, Paid TV, Music)
All media related services can be cancelled immediately or transferred into another person’s name.
These can include but are not limited to:
- newspaper subscription (paper or online)
- magazine subscription (paper or online)
- paid TV subscription (e.g. Foxtel, Netflix, Stan)
- music streaming services (e.g. Spotify)
Follow the instructions provided by the media company in response to your notification as outlined in Step 12.
22.5 Insurance policies
Insurance policies that are no longer required can be cancelled immediately. Some examples of common insurances are:
- Home & Contents insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- Roadside Assist
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Pet insurance etc.
Note: You should maintain or put in place insurances on behalf of the deceased estate to ensure no negative financial impact on the estate in the case of a theft or damage.
If life insurances were in place, there may be an insurance claim benefit payable. Check with the relevant insurer about this before cancelling to make sure you can still claim at a later stage as described in Step 25 – Claim Insurance & Other Benefits.
If a real estate or vehicle was or will be transferred to the surviving joint owner, then that person is responsible to pay for insurance from the transfer date onwards.
22.6 Lease Agreements
If the deceased had a vehicle lease agreement, you will need to check with the leasing company about the terms and conditions to determine your options.
If the deceased person was renting their home and you have not dealt with the rental agreement yet, you should read Step 16.5 – Rental Property. You should notify the relevant parties and end the agreement if you can, depending your State/Territory legislation as outlined in Step 16.5, and stop paying rent as soon as possible.
22.7 Other Common Services
There may be a raft of other services and subscriptions the deceased may have utilised. A good way to find out about such regular payments is to check the bank statements as outlined in Step 19.7 – Bank Statements.
Some other common services may be:
- Sport Clubs
- Gym Memberships
- Sport Season Memberships
- Social Clubs
- Travel Clubs
- Professional Memberships etc.
22.8 Consumer Laws
Australian consumers are protected by law and it is always good to know your rights under these and the terms and conditions of an agreement.
You can check what applies to your State/Territory based on the common information compiled below:
Consumer Protection – Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
Phone: 1300 304 054
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm AWST
Email: [email protected]
Address: Level 2 (Reception), 140 William Street (please use the public entrance off Railway Lane from the Murray Street Mall), Perth WA 6000
Post: Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Consumer Protection, Locked Bag 14, Cloisters Square, WA 6850
Regional: Find you regional office here
Website
Find out more on the Consumer Protection – Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety website here.
Consumer Affairs Victoria
Phone: 1300 55 81 81
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm AEST
Email: You can contact the Consumer Affairs Victoria here
Metropolitan Offices: Box Hill, Dandenong, Reservoir, Werribee
Regional Offices: Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Mildura, Morwell, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, Wodonga
Post: Consumer Affairs Victoria, GPO Box 123, Melbourne VIC 3001
Website
Find our more on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website here.
Fair Trading QLD
Phone: 13 74 68
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:30am – 4:30pm AEST
Email: [email protected]
Address: Find your Fair Trading Services office location near you here
Post: Office of Fair Trading, GPO Box 3111, Brisbane QLD 4001
Website
Find out more on the Fair Trading QLD website here.
22.9 Actions and Decisions to Complete Step
If you would like a little help from us at simplyEstate with this Step, you can email us or book your free first phone appointment. If you would like specialist help, get in touch with one of our Specialist Partners listed in the yellow section to the right or below and see how they can help.
If you have decided to tackle this Step yourself after reading and understanding this Step, you may want to:
- Determine which of the identified services are no longer required;
- Cancel subscriptions, policies and any other contracts that you can terminate; and
- Cancel related direct debits or credit card payments.
Once you have completed all the necessary actions and decisions, you can move on to the next Step by clicking below or save progress at the top.
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simplyEstate Specialist Partner Listings coming soon in 2019.
simplyEstate Specialist Partner Listings coming soon in 2019.
simplyEstate Specialist Partner Listings coming soon in 2019.
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If you have worked through this step and found something that could be added, is not quite right or you think may no longer apply, please let us now.
