Charged for a subscription? What to do

Plain step-by-step guides for people who have already been charged: how to stop the charges, cancel the subscription and try to get the money back. Start with the article closest to what happened to you.

• Charged for a subscription you didn’t want? What to do right now — The next hour: find who is charging you, cancel, ask for a refund in writing, stop further charges, dispute with your bank. What to keep as proof.
• Cancelled your subscription but still being charged? What to do — A charge after you cancelled is the easiest to dispute. Gather proof of cancellation, stop further charges with your bank, then dispute. Step by step.
• Unknown charge on my card: how to find out who is charging me — A name you don’t recognize on your statement? How to trace the company behind it, find the receipt email, ask your bank, and cancel if it’s a subscription.
• Subscription not showing in iPhone or Google Play but still charged: how to cancel a subscription you bought on a website — Not in your iPhone or Google Play subscriptions but still charged? You signed up on a website. Where the cancel page is, what to email, what to do next.
• How to stop a company from charging your card — Tell your bank to stop the recurring payment, block the company or replace the card; cancel in PayPal. Why none of this refunds you or ends the contract.
• How to dispute a subscription charge with your bank and get the money back — How to ask your bank to reverse a subscription charge, what proof to bring, how long you have, and what happens if you lose. Plain steps for any bank.
• Refund request letter for a subscription: templates to copy — Ready-to-copy texts: a refund request to the company, a short follow-up, and a summary for your bank’s dispute form. Plain, polite and factual.
• I paid $0.99 and they charged me $39: what “every 4 weeks” means and how to stop it — Why a $0.99 trial became a full-price charge, what “every 4 weeks” really means (13 charges a year), and what to do now: cancel, stop it, ask for a refund.
• How to cancel a subscription on your iPhone — Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Cancel. What to do if it is not in the list but you are still charged, and how to cancel a free trial in time.
• How to cancel a subscription on Google Play (Android) — Play Store → profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → Cancel. Why uninstalling does not help, and what to do if it is not listed.
• How to get a refund for a subscription from the App Store or Google Play — Apple: reportaproblem.apple.com, answer in 1–2 days. Google Play: 48 hours via your order history, then the developer. What to do if they say no.
• Bank refused to reverse a charge: what to do next — Get the reason in writing, ask again with better proof, complain about the bank, write to the company once more. When court is worth it. Honest odds.