A recurring charge you never authorized is usually recoverable, but the fix runs on deadlines, not outrage. Under U.S. federal billing rules, you have 60 days from the first statement showing the charge to dispute it in writing. Your card issuer then has 30 days to acknowledge the dispute and up to 90 days to resolve it. Those clocks apply whether the charge came from a forgotten free trial, a cancellation the company ignored, or outright fraud.
What actually wins these cases? Paper. Statements, cancellation emails, screenshots. Vague phone calls tend to evaporate; documented complaints get resolved.
This covers the U.S. process: canceling the subscription, disputing with your bank or card issuer, and escalating to the CFPB, the FTC, or your state attorney general if the first pass stalls.
Which federal rules cover your charge
Two federal rules do the heavy lifting, and credit and debit cards are treated differently.
For credit cards, the Fair Credit Billing Act, applied through the billing error rules in Regulation Z, covers charges you didn't authorize, wrong amounts, and bills for goods that never showed up. You trigger it with a written notice within 60 days of the statement. The California Attorney General's dispute guide walks through the same protections in plain language, including the detail most people miss: calling the bank starts the conversation, but only a letter within 60 days locks in your legal rights.
Debit cards run on Regulation E, which ties your liability to reporting speed. Notify the bank within two business days of learning about a lost or stolen card, and unauthorized transfers are capped at $50. Wait longer and the cap can rise to $500.
Quick comparison:
| Credit card | Debit card | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing rule | Billing error process (Regulation Z) | Regulation E |
| Deadline that matters | Written dispute within 60 days of the statement | Two business days to keep liability at $50 |
| Issuer's clock | Acknowledge in 30 days; resolve within two billing cycles, max 90 days | Prompt investigation; liability rises the longer you wait |
Cancel first, then block the merchant
Contact the merchant before you touch the dispute process, even though it feels useless. Ask them to cancel the subscription and refund the charges in one message, then save whatever comes back. Silence is evidence too.
Thing is, canceling only stops future billing. Getting money back takes the dispute.
Blocking comes next, and it matters as much as anything else here. Call the number on your card and ask them to stop future charges from that merchant. Skip this and next month's charge lands while your case is still open. There's regulatory pressure on your side, too: the FTC's click-to-cancel rule, finalized in 2024, covers almost all negative-option subscription programs and is meant to make quitting about as easy as signing up.
How to file the dispute with your card issuer
The sequence is simple, but each step protects a different part of your claim.
- Call the number on the back of your card to flag the charge and request a block on the merchant. Write down the date and the rep's name.
- Send a written dispute within 60 days of the first statement showing the charge. Issuer apps handle disputes well, but keep the confirmation; that written record is what preserves your federal rights.
- Reference your evidence in the dispute itself, not just in a follow-up note.
- Keep paying the rest of your bill. While the investigation runs, the issuer can't report the disputed amount as delinquent if you're current on everything else.
- If the answer comes back "charge stands," you can write back within 10 days with any new evidence.
Evidence that actually moves the needle:
- Statements with the recurring charges highlighted
- Signup confirmations or trial terms, or the fact you have none
- Your cancellation email and any reply
- Screenshots of the merchant account, if you can still log in
- A short timeline: each charge, each call, each email
A letter like this works for the written step:
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
[Card issuer]
Billing inquiries department
[Address on your statement]
Re: Billing error notice, account ending in 1234
I dispute the following charges on my statement dated [date]:
- $29.99, [merchant name as printed], [transaction date]
- $29.99, [merchant name as printed], [transaction date]
These charges are part of a recurring subscription I did not authorize. I canceled on [date] and received no refund. Copies of my statements and cancellation attempts are enclosed. Please credit my account and block all future charges from this merchant.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Phone number]What happens after you file
The issuer has 30 days to acknowledge your letter unless they've already fixed the problem. The investigation can't run past two billing cycles, and 90 days is the hard ceiling under federal rules. Most decisions land well before that. If they side with you, the charge comes off. If they don't, use that 10-day window and send anything you haven't already, like a second cancellation attempt or proof the merchant billed you again after your block request.
Turns out denials often cite missing paperwork rather than the merits of the claim, so treat one as a signal to escalate, not a verdict on your case.
Where to escalate if the bank says no
Four routes, four different jobs. The CFPB's complaint portal at consumerfinance.gov is the strongest next move for a card dispute: you file against your bank online, the CFPB forwards the complaint, and the company has to respond in a form you can read and rebut, and issuers generally move faster once a case sits in a federal database than they ever did over the phone. It takes about ten minutes.
An FTC report won't pull your money back on its own. It feeds the enforcement data the agency uses against subscription traps, and those cases start with individual reports. File it anyway; it costs nothing.
Your state attorney general is worth a complaint if you're seeing a pattern or the CFPB route stalls, and some offices mediate individual disputes. Small claims court is the last stop for a stubborn, larger amount: no lawyer needed, modest filing fees, but check your state's dollar limit and make sure the merchant can actually be served in your state.
Mistakes that sink recurring charge disputes
- Calling the bank but never sending the 60-day letter, which is what actually activates your federal protections.
- Letting the window close while you wait for the merchant to do the right thing.
- Filing before checking the billing descriptor (the name printed next to the charge). Plenty of "unknown" charges are just brands billing under a parent company, and a family member's purchase is the other classic.
- Canceling the subscription without blocking the merchant, then getting billed again mid-dispute.
- Ignoring the issuer's request for documents. An unanswered request is treated like a withdrawn dispute.
Common questions
Can I dispute a charge older than 60 days? The federal billing-error right is tied to that window, but card networks run their own chargeback processes with separate deadlines. Experian notes that chargebacks tied to the quality or delivery of goods and services can start as late as 120 days after purchase, so ask your issuer which process fits your case.
Does disputing hurt my credit score? Handled right, no. During the investigation the issuer can't report the disputed amount as late or delinquent, as long as you keep paying the undisputed balance on time.
Is a BBB complaint worth filing? It's voluntary, so the merchant can ignore it, though companies do answer to protect their ratings. Treat it as a supplement to the CFPB and your issuer, never the main route.
What if the charge is on PayPal or another platform? Different payment rails, different deadlines. To be honest, assume the 60-day card rules don't apply and work from the windows shown in the platform's resolution center for your specific case.
Tonight's task is small: find the first statement that shows the charge and write that date down. The 60-day clock runs from it, and nearly everything else in this process depends on where you stand against it.