Refund request letter for a subscription: templates to copy
Send the company a short, polite, dated letter with five facts and one clear request: cancel the subscription and refund the charge. When you have not used the paid service, that letter alone often works. If it does not, it becomes the proof your bank will ask for. The texts below are ready to copy.
What the letter must contain
- Your name and the e-mail address the subscription is under.
- The date and amount of each charge, and the last 4 digits of the card.
- The date you cancelled, if you already did.
- Exactly what you want: cancel the subscription, refund a specific amount, confirm in writing.
- A deadline for a reply: 7–10 days is normal.
- A screenshot of the statement line, attached.
Keep it calm and factual. “A charge I did not expect” works better than “fraud”. A letter like that gets read by the company and accepted by your bank as evidence later. Consumer protection agencies give the same advice: keep copies of your cancellation request and of every message.
Letter 1. The refund request
Subject: Request to cancel my subscription and refund a charge Hello, My name is [full name]. The subscription is registered to [e-mail address]. On [date] I paid [amount] for a trial. On [date] my card ending in [0000] was charged [amount]. I did not intend to continue after the trial and I have not used the paid service. Please: 1. Cancel my subscription and confirm in writing that it is closed. 2. Refund the [amount] charged on [date]. A screenshot of my statement is attached. Please reply by [date, 7–10 days from now]. If I do not hear back, I will dispute the charge with my bank. Kind regards, [name]
If you had already cancelled and were charged afterwards, add one line: “I cancelled on [date]; confirmation attached. The charge on [date] was taken after that cancellation.” That is your strongest argument; see “Cancelled but still being charged”.
Letter 2. The short follow-up
If a week passes with no answer, reply to your own first e-mail so everything stays in one thread.
Subject: Follow-up: refund request from [date] Hello, On [date] I asked you to cancel my subscription and refund [amount]. I have not received a reply. Please respond by [date, 3–5 days from now]. After that I will pass the matter to my bank together with this correspondence. Kind regards, [name]
Letter 3. The summary for your bank
When you dispute the charge, your bank or card company will ask what happened. It passes your case through Visa or Mastercard, so the summary should be short and dry: dates, amounts, facts. Paste it into the dispute form, the chat or your written follow-up. How the process works is in “How to dispute a card charge with your bank”.
I would like to dispute a charge on my card ending in [0000]. 1. On [date] I paid [amount] for a trial of [name as it appears on the statement]. 2. On [date] I cancelled the subscription. Confirmation attached. (Skip this line if you had not cancelled yet.) 3. On [date] I was charged [amount], which I did not agree to. 4. On [date] I asked the company in writing for a refund. I received no reply / the company refused (correspondence attached). Please reverse the [amount] and stop any further payments to this company. Attachments: statement, cancellation screenshot, correspondence with the company.
Where to send it and what to keep
- Find the support address in the payment e-mail, in the website footer (“Contact”, “Terms”) or in your account. If there is only a web form, screenshot the filled-in form before you send it.
- Send it from the e-mail address the subscription is under, so they can find you quickly.
- Keep a copy of the letter and a dated screenshot showing it was sent. Your bank will want it.
- If the name on your statement means nothing to you, first work out who is actually charging you, or the letter will go to the wrong place.
- If you paid through Apple or Google, their refund forms are faster than a letter: how to request a refund from the App Store or Google Play.
What not to write
- Threats or insults. They do not speed up a refund, and they make the correspondence weaker as evidence.
- Quotes from laws you have not read. Facts and dates do more than legal citations, and the rules differ from country to country.
- A long story. Support reads the first three lines: dates, amount, request.
If the company does not answer
After the follow-up, stop waiting. Ask your bank to stop further charges to your card and dispute the charge with your correspondence attached. In many countries the law sets a deadline for reporting a payment you didn’t agree to, and card networks usually accept disputes for around 120 days from the charge. Ask your bank what deadline applies to you; the first weeks are the time to act. The whole sequence is in “Charged for a subscription you didn’t want? What to do right now”.
And for next time: the renewal terms are almost always on the payment screen, just small and off to the side. The lesson “The trial trap” shows exactly where to look.
Common questions
Does the company have to refund me because of this letter?
No, the letter is a request. But many companies refund the first charge after a trial when the service was not used, because a bank dispute costs them more. And if they refuse, the letter becomes evidence for your bank.
How long should I wait for a reply?
Give them 7–10 days, then follow up and give 3–5 more. After that go to your bank without waiting further: disputes have deadlines.
Should I mention consumer protection law?
You do not need to. Dates and facts work better than citations. If you want, say in general terms “under the consumer protection laws that apply in my country”, without quoting article numbers. You can add that you are ready to complain to your country’s consumer protection agency (for example, the FTC in the US or Citizens Advice in the UK).
Should I send it by e-mail or through the chat on their website?
E-mail, if you can find an address: it leaves a dated record you can show your bank. If chat is the only option, save the whole conversation as a screenshot or an export.
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.