Ending your AWS membership made easy

About AWS

Amazon Web Services, commonly known as AWS, stands as one of the world's leading cloud computing platforms, providing businesses and individuals across the United Kingdom with comprehensive infrastructure services. Since its launch in 2006, AWS has transformed how organisations store data, run applications, and manage their digital operations. The platform offers over 200 fully featured services from data centres globally, including multiple locations throughout the UK and Ireland.

For UK customers, AWS operates through Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, UK Branch, with its principal office located in London. The service caters to everyone from small startups to large enterprises, offering scalable solutions that grow with your business needs. This flexibility, however, means that many customers find themselves paying for services they no longer require or discovering that their usage patterns have changed significantly since they first signed up.

AWS provides cloud storage solutions alongside computing power, database management, content delivery, and numerous other technical services. The platform's pay-as-you-go pricing model initially attracts many users, but this same flexibility can lead to unexpected costs if resources aren't carefully monitored. As a result, understanding your cancellation rights becomes essential, particularly when you've decided that AWS no longer meets your requirements or budget constraints.

The company maintains a physical presence in the UK, which means customers benefit from consumer protection under British law. This includes your statutory rights regarding contract cancellations, refunds, and fair treatment. Therefore, knowing how to properly exercise these rights through formal channels, such as postal communication, ensures you maintain a clear record of your intentions and protects your interests throughout the cancellation process.

Subscription plans and pricing

AWS operates on a fundamentally different pricing structure compared to traditional subscription services. Rather than offering fixed monthly plans, the platform uses a pay-as-you-go model where you're charged based on actual usage of various services. This means your monthly costs can vary significantly depending on which services you activate and how intensively you use them.

Free tier offerings

AWS provides a free tier that allows new customers to explore and test services without immediate cost. This free tier includes three different types of offers: always free services, 12 months free for certain services, and short-term trials. For instance, Amazon S3 storage offers 5GB of standard storage free for 12 months, whilst services like Amazon DynamoDB remain free up to certain usage limits indefinitely. However, once you exceed these free tier limits, charges apply automatically, which catches many users by surprise.

Pay-as-you-go pricing structure

The standard AWS pricing model charges for compute time, storage space, data transfer, and specific service features. Storage costs typically start from approximately £0.023 per GB per month for standard S3 storage, though prices vary by region and storage class. Compute services through EC2 instances can range from a few pence per hour for basic instances to several pounds per hour for high-performance computing resources. This variability means that customers must actively monitor their usage to avoid unexpected bills.

Enterprise and savings plans

For businesses with predictable usage patterns, AWS offers Savings Plans and Reserved Instances that provide discounts of up to 72% compared to on-demand pricing. These commitments typically require one or three-year terms with upfront or monthly payments. Whilst these plans offer significant cost savings, they also create contractual obligations that make cancellation more complex, as you've committed to paying for capacity regardless of actual usage.

Many UK customers initially underestimate their total AWS costs because charges accumulate across multiple services. A simple web application might incur costs for compute instances, storage, database services, data transfer, load balancing, and monitoring services simultaneously. Therefore, monthly bills can quickly escalate from £10 to hundreds or thousands of pounds without careful resource management, prompting many users to seek cancellation.

Cancellation terms and conditions

Understanding your cancellation rights with AWS requires careful attention to the specific terms governing your account. As a UK customer, you benefit from both AWS's service terms and British consumer protection legislation, which together define your rights and obligations when terminating services.

Standard account closure rights

AWS allows customers to close their accounts at any time, which represents your fundamental right to discontinue services. However, account closure doesn't automatically guarantee refunds for prepaid services or release you from outstanding payment obligations. The AWS Customer Agreement, which governs all UK accounts, states that you remain responsible for charges incurred up to the closure date, plus any committed spending under Savings Plans or Reserved Instances.

For standard pay-as-you-go services without long-term commitments, you can effectively cancel immediately by terminating all running resources and closing your account. This means that once you've stopped all services, you'll only pay for usage up to that termination point. In practice, this gives you considerable flexibility compared to traditional subscription services with fixed notice periods.

Cooling-off period under UK law

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, UK consumers have a 14-day cooling-off period for distance sales contracts. This statutory right applies to new AWS accounts, giving you 14 calendar days from account creation to cancel without penalty. However, because AWS services begin immediately upon activation, you may still owe payment for any resources you've actually used during this period, unless you specifically requested to wait before service commencement.

To exercise your cooling-off rights effectively, you must clearly communicate your intention to cancel within the 14-day window. Postal notification provides the strongest evidence of timely cancellation, as the date of posting counts towards meeting the deadline, not the date AWS receives your letter. Therefore, sending cancellation notice by Recorded Delivery protects your rights by providing proof of when you posted your cancellation request.

Committed spend and contractual obligations

If you've purchased Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, or enterprise support contracts, different cancellation terms apply. These agreements typically cannot be cancelled early without forfeiting the entire prepaid amount or continuing to pay monthly instalments until the term expires. AWS's terms explicitly state that such commitments are non-refundable and non-cancellable, which means you'll continue owing money even after closing your account.

This represents a significant consideration when deciding to cancel AWS services. You must carefully review which services you've committed to and understand that whilst you can close your account and stop incurring new charges, existing contractual obligations remain enforceable. In practice, this means some customers maintain minimal AWS accounts purely to fulfil prepaid commitments whilst no longer actively using services.

Outstanding charges and final billing

AWS continues billing for approximately 90 days after account closure to capture any usage charges that weren't immediately calculated. This delayed billing cycle means you might receive invoices even after cancellation, which can cause confusion. You remain legally obligated to pay these legitimate charges for services consumed before closure, and failure to pay can result in debt collection activities.

Data retrieval before cancellation

Before initiating cancellation, you must retrieve all data you wish to keep, as AWS deletes account data following closure. The service terms specify that AWS has no obligation to maintain or provide your data after account termination. This means you bear full responsibility for backing up databases, downloading stored files, and exporting any configurations or settings you might need later. Failure to retrieve data before cancellation results in permanent loss, with no possibility of recovery.

How to cancel AWS by post

Cancelling your AWS services through postal communication provides the most reliable and legally robust method for UK customers. This approach creates an indisputable paper trail that protects your consumer rights and provides evidence should any disputes arise regarding cancellation dates or terms.

Why postal cancellation offers superior protection

Whilst AWS provides online account closure options through your console dashboard, postal cancellation offers distinct advantages for UK consumers. Written communication sent by Recorded Delivery creates legal proof of your cancellation request, including the exact date you initiated the process. This documentation becomes invaluable if AWS disputes your cancellation date or attempts to charge for services beyond your intended termination point.

Under UK law, the date you post your cancellation letter counts as the date you gave notice, not when AWS receives or processes it. Therefore, if you're working within the 14-day cooling-off period or need to meet specific contractual deadlines, posting your cancellation ensures you meet these timeframes even if postal delivery takes several days. This legal protection doesn't exist with online cancellation methods, where processing delays might affect your cancellation date.

Furthermore, postal cancellation provides a formal record that exists outside AWS's systems. If technical issues, account access problems, or administrative errors occur, your postal record remains unaffected. This independence proves particularly valuable if you're cancelling due to disputes over charges or service quality, as your evidence doesn't rely on AWS's internal records.

Preparing your cancellation letter

Your cancellation letter must include specific information to ensure AWS can identify your account and process your request without delay. Include your full name as it appears on the account, your AWS account number (a 12-digit number found in your account settings), the email address associated with your account, and your clear statement that you wish to close your AWS account immediately or from a specific date.

Additionally, specify whether you're exercising your 14-day cooling-off rights under UK consumer protection law, particularly if you're within that initial period. Request written confirmation of your account closure and the final billing date, which creates an obligation for AWS to respond and provides you with official documentation of the cancellation. If you have any outstanding concerns about charges or committed spending, clearly state these in your letter to ensure they're addressed during the closure process.

Your letter should maintain a professional, factual tone whilst being absolutely clear about your intentions. Ambiguous language or requests for information rather than definitive cancellation instructions might delay processing. Therefore, use direct statements such as \