How to Cancel Checkatrade: Steps, Notice and What You Lose
To cancel Checkatrade you need three things: your contract end date, written notice to the membership team, and a plan for the enquiries that stop when the profile comes down. Fixed Plan memberships run for 12 months, so for most members the real question is not "how do I cancel" but "how do I stop this renewing, and what do I put in its place". This guide covers both, in order.
The Six Steps, in Order
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Find your contract end date
Check your original sign-up email or invoice, or ask your account contact to confirm the term end date in writing. Fixed Plans are 12-month commitments, and members posting in 2026 describe being held to the full term, so this date drives everything else.
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Read the notice and renewal clauses on your plan
The published small print confirms the 12-month term but notice periods and renewal mechanics sit in the membership terms you accepted at sign-up, and they change over time. Find the notice period, how notice must be given, and whether the membership renews automatically. Do not rely on what a phone call tells you; rely on the document.
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Give notice in writing, ahead of the deadline
Email the membership team stating your business name, membership number and that you are cancelling at the end of the current term. Ask for written confirmation of the cancellation and the final billing date. Keep the thread. If a retention offer arrives, judge it on cost per won job, not the discount percentage. The cost breakdown shows how to run that calculation.
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Bank your reputation before the profile comes down
Your Checkatrade reviews are not portable. Before the end date, screenshot the profile and review history for your records, and ask your best recent customers to leave a Google review too. Ten fresh Google reviews will do more for you next year than two hundred reviews on a profile that no longer exists.
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Replace the lead flow before it stops
Whatever Checkatrade was sending, it stops the day the membership ends. Line up the replacement first: a complete Google Business Profile in your trading area, a website that ranks for your trade and town, and a habit of asking every finished job for a review. Unlike the membership, none of it switches off.
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Confirm the money has stopped
After the final billing date, check the bank and cancel any card authority or direct debit that survives the contract. Keep the written cancellation confirmation for a year in case of billing disputes.
Before You Cancel, Check the Maths Once More
Some members are right to stay. If Checkatrade wins you jobs at a cost per won job below your gross profit, it is a working channel, and the full review covers who tends to get that result. The members who should leave are the ones paying £150 to £500 a month (member-reported range, 2024–2026) for shared leads that rarely convert. Run your own figures through the break-even calculator on the review page before the retention call, so you negotiate with a number instead of a feeling.
Cancelling Checkatrade: FAQs
Can I cancel Checkatrade before the 12 months are up?
Generally no. Fixed Plan memberships run for a 12-month term ("Memberships are for 12 months", join.checkatrade.com small print, accessed 22 July 2026), and members posting in 2026 describe being held to the full term. If you believe the service sold differs from the service delivered, put the complaint in writing with evidence and ask for early release; some members report negotiated exits, but nothing in the published terms entitles you to one.
Do I get a refund if I cancel Checkatrade?
The published terms do not offer refunds for unused months of a fixed-term membership. Consumer cooling-off rights under UK law protect consumers, not businesses, so a trade membership does not automatically carry a 14-day exit. Check the current membership terms and anything you signed for your specific plan.
Do I keep my Checkatrade reviews if I leave?
No. The reviews sit on your checkatrade.com profile, and the profile comes down when the membership ends. You cannot export them into Google reviews. That is why the guide says to ask your happiest recent customers for a Google review before you cancel, while the relationship is fresh.
Will Checkatrade try to keep me when I give notice?
Expect a retention conversation, usually a discount or a plan change. Members report upgrade and retention pressure at renewal time. Decide on cost per won job before the call: if the numbers did not work at £150 a month, a £120 counter-offer rarely changes the answer.
What should I set up before cancelling Checkatrade?
Replace the lead flow before you switch it off. As a minimum: a Google Business Profile that is complete, categorised correctly and collecting reviews, and a website that ranks for your trade and town. Both keep working after the subscription ends, which is the difference between renting visibility and owning it.
Replacing the Leads Is the Hard Part. It's Also My Job
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