How to dispute a subscription charge with your bank and get the money back

Checked: October 26, 2026

If the company will not refund you, ask your bank or card company to dispute the charge (banks call this a chargeback). Call the number on the back of your card or use the "dispute a transaction" option in your banking app, then send your proof in writing. Do it as soon as you can: most banks give you about 120 days from the charge, and the earlier you go, the better your chances.

The rules differ a little from country to country, but the steps below work with almost any bank. The organizations named here are only examples: look up the one in your country.

Do this before you call the bank

The first thing the bank will ask is whether you tried to sort it out with the company. So, in this order: cancel the subscription where you signed up and screenshot the confirmation; then send the company a short refund request and give it a few days. If you get no answer or a no, you now have exactly what the bank wants to see.

There is no need to feel embarrassed. "$0.99 trial, then $39 every four weeks" catches thousands of people a month, and banks see these disputes all the time. Yours is routine work for them.

What proof to bring

• The statement line: date, amount, currency and the company name exactly as the bank shows it.
• A three-sentence story: "I signed up for a $0.99 trial of an app for learning English. I cancelled on DATE. On DATE they charged me $39."
• Proof you cancelled: a screenshot or e-mail with the date and time.
• Your refund request to the company and its reply, or proof that it never answered.
• Screenshots of the sign-up page if the real price or the automatic renewal was hidden or in small print.

Not sure what you actually agreed to, or how much they will take next? Send us a screenshot of the payment screen or the receipt and we will explain it in plain words.

How to file the dispute

1. Open the charge in your banking app. Many banks have a "Dispute this transaction" or "Report a problem" button right there; the label varies by bank.
2. If there is no button, call the number on the back of your card and say you want to dispute a charge for a subscription you cancelled (or never agreed to at that price).
3. Tell the story in three sentences and say what proof you have. Ask for a case number.
4. Send the proof in writing through the app, secure message or e-mail, with the case number in the subject. A phone call alone is easy to lose track of; a written dispute is not.
5. Ask four questions: how long the review takes, whether there is any fee, what deadline applies to your case, and whether the money is returned now or only after the decision.

What happens next: your bank sends the case through Visa, Mastercard or American Express to the company's bank, which asks the company for its side. Some banks credit your account right away while they look into it; others wait for the outcome. The company can argue that you clicked a button that said "Start trial" with the renewal terms underneath, and the decision can go either way. Nobody can promise the result, but full proof and a quick filing help a lot.

How long do I have to dispute a charge?

• Card networks (Visa, Mastercard): usually up to about 120 days from the charge, sometimes from the day you found the problem. Your bank may use a shorter window, so ask.
• The law: in many countries the law gives you the right to ask your bank to return a payment you did not agree to, or an amount bigger than the one you agreed to. The deadlines differ by country and can be shorter than 120 days, so ask your bank which deadline applies to you.
• PayPal: open a dispute in the Resolution Center within 180 days of the payment. You and the seller then have 20 days to settle before you can escalate it to a claim.

The clock is already running. If you see the charge today, call today. And separately stop the next charge: a dispute only covers money already taken.

A charge after you cancelled is the strongest case

In many countries, money taken after you cancelled a subscription counts as a payment you did not agree to, and you can dispute it on that ground. That is why the dated proof of cancellation matters more than anything else. If you cancelled and they kept charging, read cancelled but still being charged too.

Can it cost me anything?

Many banks do not charge anything for a card dispute, win or lose, but some do charge a fee if the card network sides with the company, so ask before you file. What you can lose is time: a review often takes one to four months, and a contested case longer. If the bank sides with the company, any temporary credit is taken back from your account.

If the bank turns you down or does not answer, you can complain to the organization that oversees banks in your country (often the central bank or a financial ombudsman). For example, in the US that is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and in the UK the Financial Ombudsman Service. The other steps are here: the bank refused my dispute: what next.

Subject: Dispute of charge on [date], card ending [last 4 digits], case [number if you have one]

I am disputing a charge of [amount] on [date] to [company name as shown on the statement].

On [date] I signed up for a trial of [service] for [amount]. On [date] I cancelled the subscription (screenshot attached). On [date] the company charged my card [amount] anyway. On [date] I asked the company in writing for a refund; it did not reply / it refused (correspondence attached).

Please reverse this charge. Please also tell me the case number, how long the review will take, and whether a temporary credit will be applied.

[Your name, phone number]

This is general information, not legal advice. Bank and app store rules change and differ from country to country, so check the steps in your bank’s app or with their support.