Cancel a contract in Spain: phone, internet and gym

Quick answer

To end a phone, internet or pay-TV contract in Spain, ask the operator for your cancellation (baja): you can leave at any time, the baja must take effect within two working days, and nothing after that may be billed (art. 7 RD 899/2009). For gyms, streaming and other subscriptions, follow the notice in your contract; you can always end it in the same form you signed it, and a penalty for leaving a minimum term early must be proportional (art. 62 TRLGDCU). A contract signed online, by phone or at your door can usually be withdrawn within 14 days (desistimiento). Ask for written confirmation with a reference number.

This guide covers consumer subscriptions in Spain, such as phone, internet, pay TV, streaming and gyms. It is general information, not legal advice. For insurance and tenancies, see our guides to cancelling insurance in Spain and tenant letters in Spain; to escalate a dispute, see consumer complaints in Spain. Ending a contract, withdrawing from a new one within 14 days and returning a direct debit are three separate steps.

Baja or desistimiento: check the contract first

A baja ends an ongoing contract; a desistimiento is the statutory right to withdraw from a new distance or off-premises contract. Check the minimum term (compromiso de permanencia), the renewal date, the notice period (preaviso) and the procedure for ending the contract, which the contract must set out (art. 62.4 TRLGDCU).

The consumer protection code (Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2007, TRLGDCU) lets you end a continuing contract in the same form in which you concluded it, without sanctions or onerous charges such as losing prepaid amounts or paying for services not provided (art. 62.3 TRLGDCU). Clauses that impose formalities different from those used to sign up, or a renewal deadline that does not effectively let you refuse renewal, are unfair (arts. 87.6 and 85.2 TRLGDCU); whether a particular clause is unfair is decided case by case. If you break a permanencia, the penalty must be proportional to the days not yet run (art. 62.5 TRLGDCU, since 1 January 2022). The law sets no general notice period for gyms or streaming: it depends on the contract. Whether unused prepaid months of an annual plan must be refunded also depends on the contract.

Phone, internet and pay TV

You can end the contract at any time by telling the operator at least two working days before the baja is to take effect; the operator may not bill or collect anything that accrues after that period, and its procedure must let you prove what you asked (art. 7 RD 899/2009). The operator must accept a baja through the channel you used to sign up and by phone (art. 65.2 Ley 11/2022, as amended from 28 December 2025) and give you a reference number; by phone, you can ask for a document proving the request (art. 26.2 RD 899/2009). According to the Ministry’s telecom users’ office (OAUT), an operator cannot refuse a baja because you owe money; it can claim the debt separately.

The initial contract term is at most 24 months. After it, the contract may renew automatically, but you can end it at any time with at most one month’s notice (art. 67.7 Ley 11/2022). If the operator changes the terms, it must tell you at least one month in advance, and you can generally leave without cost within one month of that notice (art. 67.8 Ley 11/2022). You may still owe for subsidised equipment you keep (art. 67.10 Ley 11/2022). Porting your number ends the services linked to it, but other services, such as a separate line or TV, may need their own baja (art. 10.1 RD 899/2009).

Withdraw from a new contract within 14 days

For a contract concluded online, by phone or away from the trader’s premises, you generally have 14 calendar days to withdraw without giving reasons, or 30 days after an unsolicited visit to your home or a trip organised by the trader (art. 102 TRLGDCU). For services, the period runs from the day the contract was concluded; for goods, from the day you received them (art. 104 TRLGDCU). Use the model form in annex I.B of the TRLGDCU or any clear statement, such as “Por la presente le comunico que desisto de mi contrato…” (art. 106.1 TRLGDCU). It is in time if you send it before the period ends, but the burden of proof is yours (art. 106 TRLGDCU).

The trader must refund all payments, including standard delivery costs, within 14 calendar days by the same means of payment (art. 107.1 TRLGDCU); a late refund can be claimed at double the amount (art. 76 TRLGDCU). If you asked for a service to start during the period, you pay for the part already supplied (art. 108.4 TRLGDCU); the right is lost only once the service has been fully performed with your consent (art. 103 TRLGDCU). Weekends and holidays count (art. 5 Código Civil), and the law does not clearly say whether a period ending on a holiday is extended, so send your withdrawal well before the last day. The EU withdrawal-button rules (Directive (EU) 2023/2673) had not been transposed into Spanish law on 18 October 2026, so do not rely on a “desistir del contrato aquí” button being required.

Write your baja letter

Give your full name, your DNI, NIE or passport number, the customer or contract number, the lines or membership concerned and every service you are ending. Ask for the baja itself, not for information about it. The example asks for the earliest date the contract and the law allow; for phone and internet, keep the bracketed sentence on the two-working-day rule. Add both addresses and the date, and replace every placeholder.

Asunto: Solicitud de baja — contrato n.º [número de contrato], cliente n.º [número de cliente]

Muy señores míos:

Por medio de la presente, [nombre y apellidos], con [DNI/NIE/pasaporte] n.º [número], titular del contrato arriba indicado, les comunico mi decisión de darme de baja y poner fin al contrato de [servicio: por ejemplo, línea móvil, fibra y televisión, o cuota de gimnasio] ([números de línea, dirección de instalación o número de socio, si procede]).

Les solicito que la baja surta efecto en la primera fecha permitida por el contrato y por la normativa aplicable, y que a partir de esa fecha no emitan ni carguen ningún otro recibo. [Para servicios de telecomunicaciones: conforme al artículo 7 del Real Decreto 899/2009, no procede facturar ni cobrar importes devengados una vez transcurridos dos días hábiles desde la recepción de esta comunicación.]

Les ruego que me confirmen por escrito, en papel o en otro soporte duradero, la recepción de esta solicitud, la fecha efectiva de la baja y el número de referencia asignado, y que me indiquen, en su caso, cómo devolver los equipos [router, descodificador u otros] y el importe de cualquier cantidad pendiente según el contrato.

Pueden contestarme en [dirección postal o correo electrónico].

Atentamente, [Nombre y apellidos] [Firma]

If billing continues after the baja

Send a follow-up that refers to your first letter and does not replace it. Every business must give you a reference code and a written receipt for a complaint (reclamación) and answer it within 15 days (art. 21 TRLGDCU, since 28 December 2025). Ley 10/2025 on customer services adds a five-day deadline for billing complaints to large companies and basic-service providers, but its own duties apply in full only from 28 December 2026.

For phone and internet, if there is no satisfactory answer within one month, you can complain free of charge to the OAUT within three months; its decision binds the operator (art. 78 Ley 11/2022). For other services, turn to your local consumer office (OMIC) or regional consumer authority, or to consumer arbitration if the company accepts it (RD 713/2024). Separately, you can ask your bank to refund a SEPA direct debit within eight weeks of the debit date (arts. 48 and 49 RDL 19/2018), or within 13 months if it was unauthorised (art. 43 RDL 19/2018). Before suing, you must first try to settle (LO 1/2025); this letter can serve as that attempt if you can prove its receipt and content. See our guides to consumer complaints and payment demands in Spain.

Asunto: Cargos posteriores a la baja — contrato n.º [número de contrato]

Muy señores míos:

El [fecha] les comuniqué por [canal utilizado] mi decisión de darme de baja del contrato n.º [número de contrato] (número de referencia [número, si lo tiene]). Adjunto copia de esa comunicación y [justificante de envío o de entrega].

A pesar de ello, han seguido facturando o cargando en mi cuenta los siguientes importes, correspondientes a periodos posteriores a la fecha en que la baja debía surtir efecto: [fechas e importes de los recibos].

Les solicito que me confirmen por escrito la fecha efectiva de la baja, que anulen esos cargos y que me reembolsen [importe total] euros mediante transferencia a la cuenta [IBAN], a nombre de [titular de la cuenta], en el plazo de quince días desde la recepción de este escrito. Si consideran aplicable otra fecha de baja, les ruego que me indiquen su fundamento contractual o legal.

Este escrito constituye una reclamación y una invitación a resolver la cuestión de forma negociada antes de acudir a [la Oficina de Atención al Usuario de Telecomunicaciones, la Junta Arbitral de Consumo o los tribunales]. Les ruego que me faciliten la clave identificativa de esta reclamación. Mi comunicación de baja inicial sigue plenamente vigente.

Atentamente, [Nombre y apellidos] [Firma]

Post your letter and keep evidence

If you prefer post, upload your final PDF or write the letter in MaisonMail. Use the cancellation or complaints address given in the contract or on the company’s website. The recipient address determines the destination; available services, estimated delivery and the final price appear before payment. Apart from the 14-day withdrawal, where sending in time is enough, assume a baja counts only once it reaches the company, so allow time for printing and delivery.

No law requires registered post or a burofax (a Correos service that certifies the content and delivery of a letter) for a consumer baja or withdrawal, but you must be able to prove it. The law does not settle whether a company must accept a postal baja for a contract signed online, so also use the channel you signed up with, such as the app, website or phone, and keep the reference number. The OAUT advises sending a postal baja to a telecom operator with acknowledgement of receipt. For a postal baja to a telecom operator, a disputed baja or a last-minute withdrawal, use a burofax or a carta certificada con acuse de recibo (registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt) sent through Correos, the Spanish postal service: a standard or tracked letter is neither. Keep a copy of the exact letter. Tracking shows that an item arrived, not what the envelope contained.