BEWARE National Gallery Members!!!

The National Gallery is doing something I am sure is illegal. 

My guess is James Beardsworth-Shaw, Head of Loyalty at the National Gallery has not read the law and regulations around ecommerce and subscriptions. 

I am pretty sure that my Art Business Info for Artists page about e-commerce for artists covers cover the specific aspect that went "Kerpinnngggg" about distance selling and ecommerce in my head when I read my subscription reminder from the National Gallery just now.

Here is what is wrong

This is what I read - in the middle of the letter. Not up top where people skim read before deciding to read the rest.  

It was the £185 which got my attention first. 

• I don't pay that amount of money to an annual subscription organisation I visit regularly - for exhibitions only. 
• The RA lost my subscription when they started a hefty building programme and getting silly with subscriptions. 
• Looks like the National Gallery will now go the same way

That's right it says 

To ensure you continue to enjoy everything the Gallery has to offer, your Membership will AUTOMATICALLY RENEW to a House Membership Plus Guest on 1 November 2025 for an annual payment of £185, so you don't need to do anything.

The extra bold and capitals and change of colour is to draw attention to the fatal flaw in what I'm sure Mr Beardsworth-Shaw will come to regret.

He's adding in an additional service without requiring explicit agreement - and automatically chargeing people for this service. That's FRAUD!

To continue on the current basis I have to fill in an additional online form.

To renew to Exhibition Membership Plus Guest, please complete this short online form. Your new Exhibition Membership would start on 1 November 2025 and cost £123 annually.

So basically - do absolutely nothing, as most annual subscribers do every year - and you will get charged an extra £63 for something you have NOT said you wanted or explicitly consented to.

I KNEW this was wrong.

IT IS EXACTLY THE WRONG WAY AROUND.

You cannot change the terms of a contract - which is what a subscription is - without the EXPLICIT CONSENT of the customer.

To confirm this, as a short cut, I asked Google this question

Can you upgrade a subscription via online marketing without explicit consent of the person who is the subscriber?

Google AI answer follows - and said exactly what I expected!

No, you generally cannot upgrade a subscription via online marketing without explicit consent from the subscriber. Data protection laws, like the UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), require clear, affirmative, and freely given consent before any direct marketing activities, including promoting upgrades. Simply sending an upgrade offer without active permission would violate these regulations, as consent cannot be implied, pre-ticked, or assumed from previous interaction

AND

Clear and Affirmative Action:
Consent must involve an active step from the individual, such as ticking an unchecked box, rather than passive acceptance or pre-ticked boxes 

Which means:

• I'm right
• Tomorrow I will be reporting the National Gallery to the relevant authority.
• I may just notify the news media re this - to access the membership at large

What they are doing is STRICTLY ILLEGAL. 

My recollection is such offences come  with a hefty fine and/or a prison sentence.

You must provide certain information if you’re selling goods or services through digital TV, by mail order or by phone or text message. This is called distance selling.

If you do not follow the rules you could be made to provide the goods or services as agreed, pay compensation or be given an unlimited fine or a prison sentence.

The National Gallery would do well to STOP ALL COLLECTION OF SUBSCRIPTIONS AS A MATTER OF URGENCY until such time as they have adjusted their system to only collect the ongoing exhibitions subscription.

I am not any sort of legal eagle but I'd recommend that the National Gallery read the 

• Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations
• the regulations relating to Sale of goods and services and data protection
• THE CONSUMER RIGHTS(PAYMENT SURCHARGES)REGULATIONS 2012