Free Trial Charged Again? How to Cancel and Stop Repeat Bank Charges

Short answer: cancel the account in writing first, then tell your bank to stop the charges. If the company keeps billing you after you cancelled, ask your bank to dispute the payments straight away, because cards have time limits. We cannot promise you will get your money back, but acting quickly gives you the best chance.

Step 1: Find the charge and the sign-up email

Check your statement for the merchant name, the date and the amount. Then search your email for words like trial, subscription and receipt. Write down the date you signed up, the price after the trial and the email address you used. Take screenshots of the sign-up page if you still can, especially if the trial terms were hard to find.

Step 2: Cancel the account yourself

• Log in and look for Cancel, Manage plan or Billing. Cancel there. Deleting the app does not always stop billing.
• If you cannot find the button, use the contact form or email on the company's website. Write something plain, such as: I want to cancel my subscription and stop all future charges. Ask for written confirmation.
• Save the confirmation email. If the site shows your plan as cancelled, take a screenshot.

Step 3: Ask your bank to stop the repeat charges

Cancelling with the company does not always stop the card being charged, so call your bank or use its app.

• UK readers: ask your bank to cancel the continuous payment authority for that merchant. This tells the bank to stop future payments to them. Ask the bank to confirm in writing.
• US readers: ask your bank to block the merchant or decline future charges from them. If they will not do that, ask for a replacement card number. Remember to update any other services that still use the old card.

What to say on the bank call

Keep it short and clear. Say the merchant name, the dates of the charges, when you cancelled and what proof you have. Ask for the reference number of the call and whether the bank has a dispute form. Write down the name of the person you spoke to. If the bank asks for your PIN, a password or a one-time code, stop. Your bank should never ask for those over the phone, and you should never share them with anyone who calls about a refund.

Step 4: Dispute the charges you should not have paid

If the company kept charging after you cancelled, or charged you when you thought the trial was free, ask your bank to dispute the payment. In the UK this is usually called a chargeback. In the US it is a billing dispute.

• In the US, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute a billing error in writing within a set window, commonly 60 days from the statement date. Send the letter to the billing dispute address your bank gives you.
• In the UK, card schemes set time limits for chargebacks, so do not wait. Your bank will ask for your cancellation proof and the details of each charge.
• Be specific and honest. Say when you cancelled, show the proof and list every charge you want back.

Step 5: Report it if it looks like a trap

If the trial page hid the price, made cancelling hard or asked for more card details than a trial needed, report it. UK readers can use Action Fraud. US readers can use the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. You can also report the business on TrustCheck, and our team will check every report before it is published.

Keep your evidence

Keep a simple note with the date you signed up, the trial length, the price after the trial, every cancellation attempt and every bank call with its reference number. Keep it until your dispute window and any bank decision are finished. If your bank says no, ask for the reason in writing.

Check before you sign up next time

Before you enter card details for any free trial, read the price after the trial and how to cancel. Set a reminder a few days before it ends. Use the TrustCheck check page to look up a website and see what other people have reported. It takes a few minutes and can save you a lot of trouble.