If the email is selling a course, use its unsubscribe option and keep a record of the request. If it concerns a receipt, account access, billing, or a password, don't treat it as a newsletter. And if your real goal is to stop a recurring charge, change the subscription in the billing area and ask the seller to confirm the cancellation in writing.

This article is for consumers in the United States. The federal CAN-SPAM law governs commercial email practices. It doesn't give you a general right to cancel a course, get a refund, or delete an account. Those questions usually turn on the seller's terms, your receipt, the payment processor, and the payment method you used.

First, identify what kind of course email you received

A course email can be promotional, transactional, or a mixture of both. The FTC looks at the message's primary purpose, so the subject line by itself may not settle the question.

An account notice with a short offer at the end isn't automatically the same as a marketing newsletter. In the other direction, putting a receipt line into a sales pitch doesn't necessarily make the whole message transactional. Read the body and consider what the sender is mainly trying to accomplish.

What U.S. consumers can expect from commercial course emails

The FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide describes the main federal requirements for commercial email. Generally, a commercial message should include:

• Accurate sender and routing information
• A subject line that isn't deceptive
• A clear way to opt out of future commercial messages
• A valid physical postal address for the sender
• An opt-out request honored within 10 business days

Misleading claims about a course can raise a separate advertising issue. Save the email if its price, refund promise, duration, credential, or claimed result conflicts with the checkout page, receipt, or purchase terms.

Marketing preferences and subscription cancellation are different. An unsubscribe request may stop promotional messages while receipts, password notices, access changes, and other account communications continue. If you want both outcomes, make both requests explicitly.

Four email templates for course customers

A written request gives you a clear record of what you asked for and when. It doesn't override the seller's refund policy or cancel a purchase automatically. Replace the bracketed information and use the seller's support address from your receipt.

1. Marketing unsubscribe request

Subject: Unsubscribe [email address] from marketing emails

Hello,

Please remove [email address] from commercial and marketing emails from [brand or course business].

I am not asking to close my course account or cancel a purchase. Please confirm when this marketing opt-out has been processed.

Thank you,
[Your name]

If the seller uses several brands or mailing lists, name each one. Keep the sent message and note the date. If promotional emails continue after the federal 10-business-day period, save examples showing the sender, subject, and date.

2. Written cancellation request

Subject: Cancellation request for [course or subscription name]

Hello,

I am requesting cancellation of [course or subscription name] associated with [account email or order number].

Please confirm:

- The effective cancellation date
- Whether any future recurring charges are scheduled
- The date my course access will end
- Whether my purchase qualifies for a refund under the applicable terms

This is a cancellation request, not only a marketing email opt-out.

Thank you,
[Your name]

A preference link may change email settings without touching recurring billing. When possible, cancel through the account's billing, subscription, or membership area as well as sending the written request.

3. Refund request

Subject: Refund request for order [order number]

Hello,

I purchased [course or product name] on [date] for [amount]. I am requesting a refund under the refund terms shown at checkout or in the purchase policy.

Please confirm whether the order qualifies, the refund amount, and the expected processing date. I have attached the receipt and the relevant policy.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Attach the receipt, but leave out unnecessary personal or payment information. If the seller refuses, ask which term it relied on and where that term appeared when you purchased.

4. Request to clarify a misleading message

Subject: Clarification requested about [price, renewal, or refund term]

Hello,

Your email dated [date] stated: "[short quotation]."

That information appears different from [the checkout page, receipt, or account screen], which showed [brief description of the difference].

Please confirm the correct total price, renewal terms, cancellation process, and refund policy for my order [order number]. I am keeping a copy of the email and checkout information for my records.

Thank you,
[Your name]

Quote only the relevant words. A screenshot should show the date, price, and terms without exposing unrelated account details.

Don't confuse marketing preferences with billing

Use this sequence when you want to stop a course purchase or recurring charge:

1. Save the records. Keep the original email, receipt, checkout terms, course name, order number, and screenshots of the account or billing page.
2. Find the actual seller. The platform logo may not be the business named on your receipt or card statement.
3. Identify the payment method. Credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, bank transfers, and other payment rails have different procedures.
4. Cancel through the account when possible. Look under billing, subscription, or membership settings rather than only under email preferences.
5. Send a precise written request. Say whether you want marketing stopped, a subscription canceled, a refund reviewed, or a billing error corrected. If you want more than one action, list each one.
6. Ask for concrete confirmation. Request the effective cancellation date, next scheduled charge, access end date, and refund decision.
7. Contact the payment provider when appropriate. If the seller doesn't correct a qualifying credit-card problem, use the card issuer's written billing-error process.

A seller's promise to stop marketing doesn't show that a subscription was canceled. A cancellation email also doesn't promise a refund unless it says that a refund will be issued.

What to check on Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi

The platform name can help you locate account settings, but it doesn't by itself determine who must cancel a charge or approve a refund. Start with the seller named in the purchase receipt and the terms shown at checkout.

Teachable

For a Teachable course, review the school's purchase page, receipt, refund policy, and account billing settings. If the platform still shows course access but the subscription status is unclear, ask the school operator to confirm the status in writing.

A generic Teachable-branded email isn't proof that the seller approved a refund or stopped future billing. The order record and the terms attached to that order are more useful.

Thinkific

Thinkific's official Payments refund instructions say the refund control in the Orders Table is available only for transactions processed through Thinkific Payments. If another processor handled the payment, the seller or that processor may need to handle the request.

The instructions also explain that a partial refund can affect the related tax amount. Ask for the total refund and any tax adjustment rather than relying on a promotional email's wording.

Thinkific documents tools for pausing and resuming student subscriptions. If a seller says your subscription is paused, ask when the next charge would occur and when payments would resume.

Kajabi

Kajabi lets site owners enable customer self-cancellation and display instructions in the customer's billing area. Its self-cancellation guidance says cancellation rules can vary by region and may have legal implications for the seller.

Kajabi's account-cancellation guidance concerns the creator's Kajabi account. It says the site, member access, and email functionality become unavailable at the end of the current billing or trial period, and customer data may be deleted after the stated retention period. That is not the same as a student's right to cancel a course purchase or receive a refund.

Whatever the platform, save a cancellation or refund confirmation before unsubscribing from related messages. Those records can help establish when you made the request.

If a course charge looks wrong

Contact the seller first and describe the exact problem. Examples include a charge after a confirmed cancellation, a duplicate charge, or a total that differs from the amount shown at checkout. Include the order number and charge date.

If you paid by credit card and the problem may be a billing error, read the FTC's guide to disputing credit-card billing errors. The FTC says your written dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was sent. Keep a copy of the letter and your supporting records.

The issuer generally must acknowledge the complaint within 30 days unless it resolves the issue sooner, and must resolve the dispute within 90 days. Those deadlines apply to this credit-card billing-error process. Don't automatically apply the 60-day rule to a debit card, prepaid card, bank transfer, or another payment method.

Describe the facts accurately. A charge you authorized but later regretted isn't automatically an unauthorized transaction or billing error. The seller's refund terms and the payment provider's dispute rules may produce different results.

Privacy and account access

An unsubscribe request normally changes promotional email preferences. It doesn't necessarily:

• Delete your course account
• Remove your progress or purchase history
• Erase receipts or records needed for customer support
• Stop service messages about access, security, or billing
• Cancel a subscription or reverse a charge

If you want your data deleted, look for the seller's privacy notice and its data-request contact. If a billing issue is unresolved, save your purchase and dispute records before making a deletion request.

A consent-confirmation email isn't a substitute for clear price, renewal, refund, or cancellation information. If it asks you to confirm details you don't recognize, sign in through the platform's known website instead of using the email link.

This information focuses on U.S. consumers. Other jurisdictions may have additional privacy or marketing rules, but a template referring to another country's consent law doesn't replace U.S. requirements or the purchase terms for your order.

Quick decision checklist

Before responding to a course email, ask:

• Is it a receipt, access notice, account alert, or promotional offer?
• Have I saved the email, receipt, checkout terms, and account records?
• Do I want marketing stopped, billing canceled, a refund, or more than one of these?
• Who is listed as the merchant on my receipt and statement?
• Which payment method did I use?
• Does the seller's reply state an effective date and next billing date?
• If I used a credit card, am I within the written-dispute deadline for a possible billing error?
• Does the email make a price or renewal claim that conflicts with checkout?

Use the unsubscribe template for marketing, the cancellation template for recurring billing, and the refund template for a policy review. Keep the reply, check that future charges have stopped, and monitor your next statement.