What to do if a company keeps charging you after you cancel

If a company keeps charging you after you cancelled, gather your proof of cancellation, write to the company with the cancellation date and a list of the charges made after it, and ask for a refund. If you paid by credit card, send your card issuer a written billing-error notice that reaches it within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the charge; under the Fair Credit Billing Act the issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, and no later than 90 days. For automatic debits from a bank account, you can tell your bank to stop future payments at least three business days before the next one. If your bank or card issuer does not handle it properly, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB.

Last reviewed October 25, 20268 official sources

Steps to stop the charges and get your money back

Gather your proof
Collect your cancellation letter or the confirmation email, the mailing receipt and delivery record if you sent a letter, notes of calls with dates and names, and the statements that show the charges. The FTC's advice is to keep copies of your cancellation request and notes about any conversations, and to save your records in case you need a refund.
Write to the company
Send a short letter or email with the date you cancelled, a copy of your proof, and a list of every charge made after that date with its date and amount. Ask for those charges to be refunded and for written confirmation that the account is closed. Set a date for a reply, such as 14 days.
Dispute the charge with your card issuer
Do not wait for the company if a statement deadline is close. For a credit card, send a written billing-error notice to the address your issuer gives for billing inquiries, not the payment address, so it arrives within 60 days after the issuer sent the first statement with the charge. For a debit card, the FTC advises filing a dispute (a chargeback) online or by phone and following up in writing.
Stop future payments from your bank account
If the company takes payments directly from your bank account, tell your bank to stop the recurring payment at least three business days before the next scheduled date. You can do it by phone or in writing.
Submit a complaint to the CFPB
If your card issuer or bank does not handle the dispute or the stop-payment order properly, submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It sends your complaint to the company for a response.
Report the company
If a company makes cancelling difficult or charges you for something you did not agree to, the FTC asks you to report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.

Credit cards: the Fair Credit Billing Act

Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1666, and Regulation Z, 12 CFR § 1026.13

Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1666, Fair Credit Billing Act: correction of billing errors (GPO)

Your notice must be in writing and reach the issuer at the address it discloses for billing errors within 60 days after it transmitted the first statement that shows the error.
It must let the issuer identify your name and account number, say that you believe the statement contains a billing error and the amount, and give your reasons.
The issuer must send a written acknowledgment within 30 days of receiving your notice, unless it resolves the dispute sooner.
It must resolve the dispute within two complete billing cycles, and in no event later than 90 days, by correcting your account or explaining in writing why it believes the charge is correct.
Billing errors under Regulation Z include charges for property or services not accepted by you or not delivered as agreed.

While the issuer investigates, you need not pay the disputed amount or related charges, though you still pay the rest of the bill (12 CFR § 1026.13(d)). The FTC also says that during the investigation the issuer cannot take legal action to collect the disputed amount, close or restrict your account, or threaten your credit rating over it (FTC).

Send the notice by certified mail with a return receipt, as the FTC recommends, and enclose copies, not originals, of your proof. Keep a copy of your letter. The same records you used with the company work here: the cancellation letter, the delivery record and the list of charges after it. Our guide to certified mail for cancellations explains what each record shows.

The 60-day clock runs from the statement, not from when you noticed the charge. Check every statement after you cancel, and send the notice as soon as a charge appears.

Debit cards and bank accounts

Electronic Fund Transfer Act rules, Regulation E, 12 CFR § 1005.10(c)

Source: CFPB: Regulation E, 12 CFR § 1005.10, preauthorized transfers

You may stop payment of a preauthorized electronic fund transfer from your account by telling your bank orally or in writing at least three business days before the scheduled date of the transfer.
The bank may ask you to confirm an oral stop-payment order in writing within 14 days. If it asks and you do not, the oral order stops being binding after 14 days.

A stop-payment order protects future payments. For charges already taken, ask your bank or debit card issuer how to dispute them, and follow up in writing at the address it gives for disputes, as the FTC advises. Keep a copy of everything you send.

What to say to the company

Keep it factual. Give the date you cancelled and how, the date your letter was delivered if you mailed it, and a list of the charges after that date. Ask for a refund of those charges and for the account to be closed. If the company sold you the subscription online, you can point out that federal law requires sellers using an online negative option, such as an automatic renewal, to provide simple mechanisms for you to stop recurring charges (15 U.S.C. § 8403).

Some states add their own rules on how a business must let you cancel; see our guide to automatic renewal laws by state. If you have not yet sent a written cancellation, do that now so the record starts today: the cancellation letter template builds the letter for you.

How a CFPB complaint works

The CFPB takes complaints about consumer financial products, including credit cards and bank checking and savings accounts. Your complaint is about the financial company, such as your card issuer or bank, and how it handled your dispute or stop-payment request.

You can submit online, which the CFPB says usually takes less than 10 minutes, or by phone at (855) 411-2372.
The CFPB sends your complaint to the company so it can review the issues.
Companies generally respond in 15 days. In some cases the company says its response is in progress and gives a final response within 60 days.
Once the company responds, you can give feedback on its answer.

Attach the same documents: your cancellation proof, the statements with the charges and a copy of your dispute letter.

Make the next cancellation stick

Most of this work is easier when the cancellation itself left a clear record. Cancel in writing, keep the delivery proof, ask for confirmation, and check the next two statements. To see what the charges have cost you so far, use the subscription cost calculator. For help with a letter we sent for you, see the help center.

Send your cancellation by certified mail

Tell us the company you want to leave. We write a formal cancellation letter, mail it by certified mail the next business day and send you the delivery proof.

Start your cancellation

Sources

Official pages we read on the review date.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Certified Mail for cancellations: what it proves
What the mailing receipt, tracking and Return Receipt each prove, and how to keep them so they still count months later.
Certified mail return receipt: what it proves and how to get it
What a Return Receipt shows, how the mailed card and the emailed receipt differ and what to do if the card never arrives.
Automatic renewal laws by state
Which states have an automatic renewal law, with the citation and main rule for all 50 states and DC, and where the FTC rule stands.
How to write a cancellation letter
What to include, in what order, with a sample letter and the mistakes that make a company write back instead of cancelling.
How to cancel a subscription by mail
Who to write to, what to say and how to send a letter that leaves a dated record of your request.
How to dispute a charge on a credit card, debit card or bank account
The steps, the 60-day deadline, credit and debit timelines side by side, and a dispute letter to copy.