Security or identity-protection subscription cancellation letter template
Pick your security & identity company or type its name. Your details go into a full cancellation letter on the page, ready to copy, print or mail.
Write your letter
Writing a security or identity-protection subscription cancellation letter
Security subscriptions often renew automatically, sometimes at a different price from the first year, and monitored home-security plans can run on multi-year contracts.
The guides below cover home security, antivirus, identity protection and monitoring services, with how each takes cancellations and what to check before you end it.
Security subscriptions often auto-renew and monitored plans can sit on a fixed contract term, so it matters when the request reaches the provider and whether it covers every device or location.
Of the 58 companies in our security & identity category, 55 take cancellations by mailed letter, 1 by email and 2 by either. 43 of them were checked by hand against the company’s own pages. Most mailing addresses on file are in CA (11), GA (3) and TX (3).
Have these to hand. The account or subscription number, the email the plan was bought with and the address or devices it covers. Add them to the letter so the company can match it to your account on the first read.
Check these before you send it
- Monitored plans can run on a fixed term. Check your agreement for the end date and any early-termination fee.
- Software plans may auto-renew a few days before the term ends. Send the request ahead of the renewal date.
- Ask for every product on the account to be cancelled, including add-on devices and extra protection tiers.
- Keep copies of anything you return, such as a control panel or camera, and send it with tracking.
Check whether you are inside a contract term before the cancellation date.
Cancellation guides for security & identity
Each guide shows how the company takes cancellations and the mailing address on file.
- How to cancel SimpliSafe
Phone or chat. Contact SimpliSafe to cancel the monitoring plan.
- How to cancel ADT
Online. Cancellation request via the help form is processed on submission; service continues through the next billing date.
- How to cancel Ring
Online (ring.com Plan). Plan stops at the end of the billing period and keeps benefits until then.
- How to cancel Credit Karma
Online (close account in Credit Karma). No notice; closing the free account takes effect immediately.
- How to cancel Avast
Online. Stop renewal before the next billing date to avoid being charged.
- How to cancel Bitdefender
Online. Switch off auto-renewal before the renewal date.
- How to cancel Malwarebytes
Online. Turn off auto-renewal before the expiration date or end of trial.
- How to cancel BeenVerified
Online. Cancel at any time.
What to include in a cancellation letter
A short, plain letter works best. Whoever opens it should be able to find your account and act on it without writing back to you.
Your name and address
Use the name and address on the account. Companies match the letter to a customer record, and a mismatch is the most common reason a request stalls.
Your account or membership number
It is printed on your bill, your welcome email or your member card. If you cannot find one, the email address on the account does the same job.
A clear sentence that you are cancelling
Say that you cancel the subscription, not that you want to pause it, and ask for every add-on and linked plan to end with it.
The date it should end
Write “as soon as possible” or a specific date. A date turns a vague request into one the company can be held to.
A request for written confirmation
Ask the company to confirm the cancellation in writing at your email address. That confirmation is your second record.
A request to stop all future charges
Ask them to remove your stored payment details so nothing renews by accident.
How to send it so you can prove it was received
Print the letter and sign it
Use the print button on the tool. Sign above your printed name and keep a copy for your files.
Send it by Certified Mail
Buy Certified Mail at a Post Office and ask for the postmarked mailing receipt. Add Return Receipt to get the signature of the person who accepts it.
Keep the receipt and the tracking number
Write the date and tracking number on your copy of the letter. Check the tracking until it shows delivered.
Note the company’s notice rule
Some companies need notice a set number of days before the next billing date. Allow for delivery time: the company may count from the day the letter arrives, not the day you posted it.
Prefer not to queue at the Post Office? We print the letter, mail it by certified mail and confirm when it is delivered.
What to do if they keep charging you
Collect your records
Gather the letter, the mailing receipt, the tracking page showing delivery and any confirmation the company sent.
Write back with the delivery date
Reply to the company with the date your letter was delivered, list each charge made after that date, and ask for those charges to be refunded.
Remind them of the rule
Federal law requires sellers who bill you online for a recurring subscription to give you a simple way to stop the charges. Mention that you asked in writing for the charges to stop.
Dispute the charge with your card issuer
If you paid by credit card, write to the issuer’s billing-error address within 60 days of the statement that shows the charge. Include copies of your records.
Source: 15 U.S.C. § 8403 (Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act); 15 U.S.C. § 1666 (Fair Credit Billing Act, billing errors)
Cancellation letter questions
What is different about cancelling a security or identity-protection subscription?
Which security & identity companies can I pick?
Do I have to cancel with a letter?
Does the letter need to go by certified mail?
Which date should I put on the letter?
What if I cannot find the company’s mailing address?
Do I need to give a reason?
Can I send the same letter by email instead?
More cancellation letter templates
- Cancellation letter template
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