Treat an unwanted recurring charge as two separate jobs: stop the next charge and deal with the one that already posted. The company or platform shown as the biller controls cancellation. Your card issuer or payment provider handles a payment dispute. Doing one does not automatically do the other.

For a U.S. credit card billing error covered by the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), the written notice generally must reach the creditor within 60 days after the first statement containing the error was sent. Use the billing-inquiries address on the statement, which may differ from the payment address. A call or app report can get things moving, but don't let it replace the written notice if the deadline is close.

Check the charge before you dispute it

Start with the statement descriptor, posting date, amount, receipt, and email account connected to the subscription. The name on the statement may belong to an app store, payment processor, parent company, or marketplace rather than the product you remember using.

A forgotten renewal isn't automatically fraud. If you accepted terms that clearly disclosed recurring billing, the issuer may treat the renewal as authorized. A documented cancellation followed by another charge gives you a specific billing problem to prove, but it still doesn't guarantee a refund.

Cancel future billing and ask for the refund

Cancel with the company or platform that bills you:

1. Open the account settings or subscription page.
2. Follow the cancellation process all the way through.
3. Look for a final confirmation, not just an offer to pause or downgrade.
4. Save the confirmation email, screenshot, cancellation date, and stated end date.
5. Check the next statement for another charge.

Deleting an app usually isn't the same as canceling its subscription. If a company requires a phone call, note the date, time, representative's name, and confirmation number. A follow-up email summarizing the call creates a useful written record. Don't secretly record a call unless doing so is lawful where you and the other party are located.

If an app store or payment platform billed you, start there. The merchant's website may not control the subscription.

For an Apple-billed subscription, Apple's cancellation instructions explain how to manage and cancel subscriptions. Apple also has a refund request process. Refund eligibility can vary by region, and Apple says a pending charge may not yet be eligible for a refund request.

Netflix says to sign in, open the cancellation page, and select Finish Cancellation. If a canceled account is still being charged, its help page for charges after cancellation says the account may have been restarted by the account holder or someone with access. Check the account and change the password if necessary before disputing a charge that may have a different explanation.

You can use this short refund request:

On [date], I canceled [service or subscription]. The charge shown on my statement is [merchant descriptor], for [amount], posted on [date]. Please confirm that the subscription is canceled and refund this charge because [brief reason]. I have attached the cancellation confirmation and statement excerpt. Please respond in writing.

Be accurate about the reason. If you agreed to the subscription and canceled later, ask for a refund without calling the transaction unauthorized. If you never consented to the charge, say so clearly and secure the account.

Don't wait for the merchant's answer if the credit card deadline is approaching.

Credit card disputes under the FCBA

The FCBA generally applies to most U.S. open-end credit card accounts. Certain unauthorized transactions and other problems, such as an incorrect amount, a charge after an agreed cancellation, or a credit that was promised but never posted, may qualify as billing errors. The issuer will review the facts and evidence.

Contact the issuer quickly

Call the number on the back of the card or use the issuer's secure app. Report suspected fraud immediately and ask whether the account or card number should be secured or replaced.

For a post-cancellation charge, describe it that way. Ask how to submit a billing-error notice and whether the issuer offers a merchant-specific block or another way to reduce future charges. Replacing a card may not always stop recurring billing, so continue checking the account.

Send a written notice

Address the notice to the issuer's billing-inquiries address. Include:

• Your name and the account information the issuer requests
• The merchant name as it appears on the statement
• The transaction date and amount
• Whether the charge was unauthorized, made after cancellation, duplicated, incorrectly calculated, or connected to a missing refund
• The date and method of cancellation, if relevant
• The correction or refund you are requesting
• Copies of supporting documents

Send it in a way that lets you prove when it was delivered. Keep a copy of the notice and every attachment. Sending a payment to the wrong address may not preserve the formal billing-error process.

Useful evidence includes:

• The statement with the charge highlighted
• The signup receipt and subscription terms
• Trial or renewal notices
• A cancellation confirmation
• Screenshots of the cancellation path or an error message
• Emails, chat transcripts, and support ticket numbers
• Call dates, representative names, and promised actions
• A merchant email acknowledging a refund
• Account-access records when someone used the account without permission

Not using the service can support your explanation, but it doesn't by itself prove that the charge was unauthorized. Evidence tying the charge to a particular cancellation, missing consent, wrong amount, or unfulfilled refund promise is usually more useful.

Pay the undisputed balance and watch the timeline

Follow the issuer's instructions about the disputed amount and keep paying the part of the balance you don't dispute. A creditor generally must acknowledge a written billing-error notice within 30 days unless it resolves the issue sooner. It generally must complete the investigation within two complete billing cycles, and no later than 90 days.

Those are investigation deadlines, not a promise that the charge will be refunded. If the issuer gives you a provisional credit, treat it as temporary. The credit can be reversed if the investigation concludes that the charge was valid.

Check pending transactions and the next statement. Report a second improper charge separately. If the merchant later refunds the charge, tell the issuer so the account doesn't show duplicate credits.

The FTC Click-to-Cancel rule is not a blanket refund right

Don't rely on claims that a federal "three-click" rule guarantees an easy cancellation or a refund.

The FTC adopted amendments to its Negative Option Rule in 2024. The amendments were intended to require clearer disclosures, express informed consent, and simpler cancellation methods. The Eighth Circuit later vacated those amendments in July 2025, as summarized in this legal update on the court decision.

On March 11, 2026, the FTC sought public comment on possible changes to its negative-option rules. The agency's Negative Option Rule page describes that request. A request for comments is not an effective nationwide rule or an automatic refund program.

The FTC can still challenge deceptive subscription practices under other authorities, including Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act. State auto-renewal and consumer-protection laws may impose separate disclosure, consent, notice, or cancellation requirements. Those laws may support a complaint about the merchant's conduct, but they don't replace the credit card dispute process or guarantee an individual refund.

If the merchant or issuer denies the claim

A merchant may say the renewal was authorized, the cancellation happened after the billing date, or the account was used after cancellation. Ask for the relevant signup, renewal, or account record and compare it with your own evidence.

If the card issuer denies the dispute:

1. Ask for the decision and reason in writing.
2. Find out whether the issue was late notice, alleged authorization, insufficient evidence, or something else.
3. Send a focused appeal with new documents, such as a cancellation timestamp or written refund promise.
4. Follow the issuer's appeal deadline.
5. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau if the issuer appears not to have followed the billing-error process.
6. Report deceptive subscription practices to the FTC or your state attorney general when the problem appears broader than one transaction.

A regulator complaint may prompt a response or help reveal a wider pattern, but it doesn't extend the issuer's dispute deadline.

Debit cards, ACH payments, and PayPal follow different procedures

The FCBA credit card process doesn't automatically apply to debit cards or withdrawals from a bank account. Debit card and ACH transactions generally have different electronic-transfer rules, notice periods, and bank procedures. PayPal and other payment platforms may set their own dispute deadlines.

Contact the bank or payment provider as soon as you notice the charge. Ask how to:

• Report an unauthorized electronic transfer
• Revoke or cancel future payment authorization
• Request a stop-payment order, if available
• Dispute a charge made after cancellation
• Protect the account while the investigation is pending

If a credit card funded the payment through a platform, ask both the platform and the card issuer which dispute route applies. Canceling the platform account doesn't necessarily cancel the card authorization or resolve a charge that already posted.

Common questions

Can I dispute a subscription I forgot to cancel?

You can ask the merchant for a refund and contact the issuer, but a forgotten renewal isn't automatically unauthorized. The result may depend on the signup disclosure, renewal notice, cancellation timing, merchant policy, and available evidence.

Is a charge after cancellation a billing error?

It may be. Keep proof that the cancellation was completed before the charge date, then describe the transaction as a charge after cancellation rather than making an inaccurate fraud claim.

Does canceling my credit card stop the subscription?

Not necessarily. Cancel with the merchant, ask the issuer whether future transactions can be blocked, and keep checking your statements. A replacement card may not stop every recurring payment.

Is the 60-day deadline measured from the charge date?

For a billing error covered by the FCBA, the deadline generally runs from when the first statement containing the error was sent, not simply from the transaction date. Contact the issuer even if you may have missed the period; the issuer or merchant may still offer another resolution.

Does the FTC Click-to-Cancel rule guarantee my refund?

No. The 2024 federal amendments commonly called Click-to-Cancel were vacated, and the FTC's later request for comments isn't a refund program. Use the merchant's refund process and the applicable payment-dispute procedure.

What if the charge is on my debit card?

Use the bank's electronic-transfer error process rather than assuming the credit card rules apply. Report the charge quickly and ask for the bank's required notice and authorization-revocation steps.

If the 60-day credit card deadline is close, send the written notice to the billing-inquiries address today, even while you continue asking the merchant for a refund.