Ending your Funimation membership made easy

About Funimation

Funimation was a prominent streaming service specialising in anime content, offering UK subscribers access to thousands of hours of Japanese animation with both subtitled and dubbed versions. The platform built a dedicated following among anime enthusiasts who appreciated its extensive library of classic and contemporary titles. However, it's important to note that Funimation has undergone significant changes in recent years, particularly following its integration with Crunchyroll after both services came under the same ownership.

As a result of this merger, Funimation's content has been migrated to Crunchyroll, and the standalone Funimation service has effectively ceased operations in many markets, including the UK. This means that if you're currently subscribed to what was formerly Funimation, you may actually be dealing with a Crunchyroll subscription or a legacy account that requires cancellation. Therefore, understanding your current subscription status is the first step in the cancellation process.

Many subscribers originally chose Funimation for its simulcast offerings, which allowed them to watch new episodes shortly after they aired in Japan. The service also provided offline viewing capabilities and ad-free streaming on premium tiers. However, with the consolidation of anime streaming services, many customers are now reassessing their subscriptions and deciding whether to continue with the merged platform or cancel altogether.

Your rights as a UK consumer are protected under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. This means you have the legal right to cancel your subscription, and the service provider must honour your cancellation request when properly submitted. Understanding these protections empowers you to take control of your subscriptions and ensures you're not paying for services you no longer want or use.

Subscription plans and pricing

During its operation in the UK market, Funimation offered several subscription tiers designed to accommodate different viewing preferences and budgets. Whilst the service has now transitioned to Crunchyroll, understanding the historical pricing structure helps if you're dealing with legacy billing or transitional accounts.

These prices represented the standard monthly subscription costs before the Crunchyroll merger. Some subscribers may have been offered annual plans at discounted rates, which typically provided savings equivalent to two months free when paid upfront. In practice, this meant annual subscribers faced different cancellation considerations, particularly regarding refunds for unused portions of their prepaid period.

Following the integration with Crunchyroll, many Funimation subscribers were automatically migrated to equivalent Crunchyroll plans. This transition sometimes resulted in billing confusion, with some customers continuing to see charges under the Funimation name whilst actually being billed for Crunchyroll services. Therefore, checking your bank statements carefully helps identify exactly which service is charging you and to whom your cancellation request should be directed.

The subscription model operated on an automatic renewal basis, meaning your payment method was charged automatically each month or year unless you actively cancelled. This auto-renewal system is common among streaming services, but it also means that forgetting to cancel can result in unwanted charges continuing indefinitely. As a result, taking prompt action when you decide to cancel is essential to avoid paying for additional billing cycles.

Understanding your billing cycle

Your billing cycle begins on the date you initially subscribed and repeats monthly or annually depending on your chosen plan. This means that if you subscribed on the 15th of a month, your renewal date would be the 15th of each subsequent month. Understanding this timing is crucial because cancellations typically take effect at the end of your current billing period rather than immediately.

In practice, this means you'll retain access to the service until the end of the period you've already paid for, which is actually to your advantage as a consumer. However, it also means you should submit your cancellation request well before your next renewal date to ensure it's processed in time. Therefore, allowing at least 7-10 working days before your renewal date provides a safety margin for postal delivery and processing.

Cancellation terms and conditions

Understanding the specific terms governing your Funimation subscription cancellation is essential to protecting your consumer rights. Under UK law, subscription services must provide clear cancellation procedures and honour properly submitted cancellation requests. This means you cannot be trapped in a subscription indefinitely, and the service provider has legal obligations to facilitate your cancellation.

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 provide you with a 14-day cooling-off period when you first subscribe to a digital service. During this initial period, you have an enhanced right to cancel and receive a full refund, even if you've used the service. This protection exists specifically to give consumers time to assess whether a service meets their needs without financial risk.

After the cooling-off period expires, you retain the right to cancel at any time, though the terms regarding refunds may differ. Typically, streaming services do not offer refunds for partial months of service, meaning you'll have access until the end of your current billing period but won't receive money back for the remaining days. This is generally considered fair practice, as you can continue using the service during that time.

Notice periods and processing times

Whilst many digital services claim to offer instant cancellation through online methods, postal cancellation requests require appropriate notice periods to account for delivery and processing time. As a result, you should submit your cancellation letter at least 7-10 working days before your next billing date to ensure it arrives and is processed before the automatic renewal occurs.

The advantage of postal cancellation lies in its verifiability and legal standing. When you send a cancellation letter via Recorded Delivery, you create an auditable paper trail that proves exactly when you submitted your cancellation request. This means that if any dispute arises about whether you cancelled in time, you have concrete evidence of the posting date, which can be crucial in challenging unwanted charges.

In practice, service providers must process properly submitted cancellation requests within a reasonable timeframe. Whilst "reasonable" isn't precisely defined in law, it generally means within a few working days of receipt. Therefore, allowing the 7-10 day window ensures that even if processing takes the maximum reasonable time, your cancellation will be completed before your next billing cycle.

Your legal protections as a UK consumer

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 establishes that service providers must perform their services with reasonable care and skill. This obligation extends to administrative functions like processing cancellations. Therefore, if a company fails to process your properly submitted cancellation or continues charging you after you've cancelled, they're potentially in breach of their legal obligations.

You also have protection under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which govern recurring payments. If a company continues to charge you after you've cancelled, you have the right to request a chargeback from your bank or card provider for unauthorised transactions. This means you have multiple layers of protection, though preventing unwanted charges through proper cancellation is always preferable to recovering them afterwards.

Additionally, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibit businesses from using aggressive or misleading practices that might prevent you from exercising your cancellation rights. This means companies cannot make cancellation unreasonably difficult or hide the cancellation process. As a result, you have strong legal backing when asserting your right to cancel.

How to cancel Funimation by post

Cancelling your Funimation subscription by post provides the most reliable and legally robust method of ensuring your cancellation is properly documented and processed. Whilst digital cancellation methods may seem more convenient, postal cancellation creates a verifiable record that protects your interests if any disputes arise about whether and when you cancelled.

The postal cancellation method involves preparing a formal written notice stating your intention to cancel, including all necessary identification details, and sending this letter via Recorded Delivery to the company's official correspondence address. This approach ensures that your cancellation request cannot be claimed to have been lost in spam filters, system errors, or other digital mishaps that sometimes affect online cancellation attempts.

Preparing your cancellation letter

Your cancellation letter should be clear, concise, and include all information necessary to identify your account. At minimum, you should include your full name as it appears on the account, your email address associated with the subscription, any account number or customer reference number if available, and your current address. This information enables the company to locate your account quickly and process your cancellation without delays caused by having to contact you for additional details.

The letter should explicitly state that you are cancelling your subscription and requesting that no further payments be taken. You should also specify the date from which you want the cancellation to take effect, typically the end of your current billing period. Therefore, mentioning "I wish to cancel my subscription at the end of my current billing period" provides clarity about your intentions and timing expectations.

It's advisable to request written confirmation of your cancellation, including confirmation that no further payments will be taken. This request establishes an expectation that the company will respond, giving you documentation that the cancellation has been completed. In practice, this confirmation serves as proof that you've successfully cancelled if any issues arise later.

Sending your letter via Recorded Delivery

Recorded Delivery service from Royal Mail provides proof of posting and tracking information that verifies your letter reached its destination. This service costs a few pounds but provides invaluable peace of mind and legal protection. The tracking number allows you to monitor your letter's progress and confirms the delivery date, creating an indisputable record of when the company received your cancellation request.

When sending your cancellation letter, keep a copy for your records along with the proof of posting receipt. These documents form your evidence trail if you need to dispute any subsequent charges or demonstrate that you cancelled within required timeframes. Therefore, treating these documents as important financial records is sensible, storing them safely for at least 12 months after cancellation.

Services like Postclic streamline this postal cancellation process by handling the letter preparation, printing, and sending on your behalf. Using such a service means you don't need to visit a post office or handle physical mail, whilst still benefiting from the legal protections and verification that postal cancellation provides. The digital proof of sending that Postclic provides serves the same evidentiary purpose as a traditional Recorded Delivery receipt, giving you trackable confirmation that your cancellation has been dispatched.

Where to send your cancellation letter

Given the merger between Funimation and Crunchyroll, determining the correct postal address for cancellation correspondence requires careful attention. If your subscription has been migrated to Crunchyroll, you should direct your cancellation to Crunchyroll's UK correspondence address. However, if you're dealing with a legacy Funimation account that hasn't been transferred, you may need to contact the original Funimation entity.

For Crunchyroll (which now manages former Funimation subscriptions), the UK correspondence address is:

• Crunchyroll
• c/o Ellation Holdings UK Limited
• Spectrum House
• Ground Floor
• 32-34 Gordon House Road
• London
• NW5 1LP
• United Kingdom

This address represents the UK entity responsible for managing subscriptions for customers in the United Kingdom. Sending your cancellation letter to this address ensures it reaches the appropriate department for processing. As a result, you can be confident that your cancellation request will be handled by the team responsible for UK customer accounts.

Following up on your cancellation

After sending your cancellation letter, monitoring your email for confirmation is important. Most companies send automated or manual confirmation within 5-10 working days of receiving a cancellation request. This confirmation should explicitly state that your subscription has been cancelled and specify the date when your access will end and when billing will stop.

If you don't receive confirmation within 10 working days of the tracked delivery date, following up is appropriate. You can reference your original letter, the tracking number, and the confirmed delivery date when enquiring about the status of your cancellation. This information demonstrates that you've taken proper steps and places the obligation on the company to explain any processing delays.

Additionally, checking your bank or card statements after your expected final billing date ensures that no further charges have been taken. If an unauthorised charge appears after your cancellation should have taken effect, you have grounds to contact your bank to dispute the transaction and request a chargeback. Therefore, remaining vigilant for one or two billing cycles after cancellation protects you from being charged for a service you've cancelled.

Customer reviews and tips

Understanding why other customers have cancelled their Funimation subscriptions and learning from their experiences can help you navigate your own cancellation more effectively. Common themes emerge from customer feedback that highlight both the challenges people face and the strategies that lead to successful cancellations.

Common reasons for cancellation

The primary reason many UK subscribers cancelled their Funimation subscriptions relates to the merger with Crunchyroll. Many customers felt frustrated by the forced migration, particularly if they preferred Funimation's interface, dubbing selection, or specific features that differed from Crunchyroll's offering. This transition left some subscribers feeling that the service they originally chose had fundamentally changed, prompting them to cancel rather than continue with the merged platform.

Content availability represents another significant cancellation driver. Some subscribers found that titles they specifically subscribed to watch were removed or became unavailable, either due to licensing changes or the content migration process. In practice, this meant they were paying for a service that no longer provided the specific anime series they wanted to watch, making cancellation the logical financial decision.

Financial considerations also motivate many cancellations. With numerous streaming services competing for consumer attention and budgets, many households are reassessing which subscriptions provide sufficient value. Anime fans might consolidate their viewing to a single platform or decide that the cost no longer justifies the amount of content they actually watch. Therefore, periodic subscription reviews have become a common money-management practice.

Technical issues and customer service experiences also feature in cancellation decisions. Some subscribers reported streaming quality problems, app crashes, or difficulties accessing content on certain devices. When combined with unsatisfactory customer service responses to these issues, technical problems can become the final factor that pushes a customer to cancel.

Tips from experienced customers

Customers who have successfully navigated the cancellation process emphasise the importance of acting well before your renewal date. Many report that leaving cancellation until the last minute creates unnecessary stress and increases the risk of being charged for an additional billing cycle. Therefore, deciding to cancel and taking action immediately, even if your current period has weeks remaining, provides peace of mind and ensures adequate processing time.

Keeping detailed records emerges as a consistent recommendation from customers who have dealt with cancellation issues. Those who maintained copies of their cancellation letters, proof of posting receipts, and any correspondence with the company found themselves in much stronger positions when disputing unexpected charges. This documentation proved invaluable in demonstrating to banks and payment providers that charges were unauthorised, facilitating successful chargebacks.

Several customers recommend using Recorded Delivery or services like Postclic specifically because of the tracking and proof of delivery these methods provide. Those who attempted to cancel through less formal methods sometimes found their cancellations weren't processed, with companies claiming they never received the request. In contrast, customers who could prove delivery with tracking information had their cancellations honoured without dispute.

Avoiding common pitfalls

One frequent mistake customers make is assuming that deleting the app or simply stopping use of the service constitutes cancellation. Subscription services continue charging your payment method until you explicitly cancel, regardless of whether you're actively using the service. Therefore, taking formal cancellation action is essential, not optional, if you want to stop being charged.

Another pitfall involves providing incomplete information in cancellation requests. Letters that don't include sufficient account identification details may be delayed whilst the company attempts to match the request to an account, potentially causing the cancellation to miss your intended billing cycle. As a result, including your full name, email address, and any account numbers ensures swift processing.

Some customers also make the error of cancelling too close to their renewal date without accounting for processing time. Postal delivery typically takes 1-3 working days, and companies may take several additional days to process the cancellation. This means a letter sent just two days before renewal might not prevent the next charge. Therefore, the recommended 7-10 day advance notice provides a realistic buffer for the entire cancellation process.

What to do if cancellation is refused or ignored

If your properly submitted cancellation request is not honoured and you continue to be charged, you have several options for recourse. First, contact the company directly, referencing your cancellation letter, the posting date, and the tracking information showing delivery. Request immediate cancellation and a refund of any charges taken after your cancellation should have taken effect. This direct approach often resolves the issue, particularly when you can demonstrate clear evidence of your cancellation request.

If direct contact doesn't resolve the situation, contacting your bank or card provider to dispute the charges is your next step. Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, you have the right to request a chargeback for unauthorised transactions. Providing your bank with copies of your cancellation letter and proof of delivery strengthens your chargeback claim significantly. In practice, banks typically side with customers who can demonstrate they properly cancelled a subscription.

For persistent issues, you can escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if the dispute involves payment handling, or to trading standards authorities if you believe the company is engaging in unfair commercial practices. These bodies exist specifically to protect consumers and can investigate companies that fail to honour legitimate cancellation requests. Therefore, you have substantial support systems available if you encounter resistance to your cancellation.

Moving forward after cancellation

Once your cancellation is confirmed, you might consider whether alternative anime streaming services better meet your needs. Crunchyroll itself offers extensive anime libraries, whilst services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video also carry anime content alongside their broader entertainment offerings. Evaluating what you actually watch and comparing the cost against your viewing habits helps ensure you're getting value from whichever services you maintain.

Some former subscribers choose to take breaks from streaming services entirely, finding that the accumulated cost of multiple subscriptions represents a significant annual expense. Taking a month or two away from a service can help you assess whether you genuinely miss it or whether you were maintaining the subscription more from habit than actual use. This reflection can lead to more intentional decisions about which entertainment subscriptions truly enhance your life.

Remember that cancelling a subscription doesn't mean you can never return. If Crunchyroll or any other service adds content you want to watch in the future, you can always resubscribe. This flexibility means you can treat streaming services as on-demand options rather than permanent commitments, subscribing when there's content you want and cancelling during periods when the library doesn't interest you. Therefore, viewing cancellation as a normal part of managing your entertainment budget, rather than a permanent decision, gives you greater control over your spending.