Charged After You Cancelled: Refund + Chargeback Ladder

The short answer: work the ladder in order — cancellation proof, then a written message to the merchant, then a card chargeback — and do not skip to the chargeback first. A charge for a subscription you cancelled before the billing date is a strong dispute: Visa files it as a cancelled recurring transaction (reason code 13.2), with a generally 120-day issuer window from the transaction date. A charge you simply forgot to cancel is a different case, and usually a weaker one. The distinction, and the proof, decide the outcome.

The ladder in brief

Cancellation proof: the date, time and confirmation for your cancellation — before you argue anything else.
Merchant message: written, specific, asking for a refund of the post-cancellation charges, with a short deadline for a reply.
Card chargeback: if the merchant refuses or ignores you, dispute the post-cancellation charges with your issuer as a cancelled recurring transaction.

Two clocks run at once, and they are not the same. For credit cards, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days from the statement date showing the charge to send a written billing-error notice to the issuer's billing-inquiries address — a phone call alone does not trigger those protections. Separately, the card networks generally allow around 120 days from the transaction date for a cancelled-recurring dispute (Visa 13.2). The 60-day written notice is the one people miss; send it even if you already called.

Step 1: Your cancellation proof

Before you contact anyone, assemble the single fact the whole case turns on: you cancelled before the charge date. Collect:

The cancellation confirmation email, screenshot or reference number, with its date and time.
The account page showing the subscription as cancelled or ending, if one exists.
The date your cancellation was meant to take effect, and whether the merchant promised immediate or end-of-period cancellation.
Your bank or card statement showing the charge date sitting after the cancellation date.

If you cancelled by phone and have no confirmation, write down the date, time, number called and name given, and ask the merchant in writing to confirm the cancellation date — their reply, or their silence, becomes part of your evidence. If you cannot prove a cancellation happened before the charge, do not frame the dispute as a cancelled subscription; use the honest framing in the distinction section below.

Step 2: Message the merchant in writing

Message the merchant before you dispute, in writing, for two reasons: many merchants refund a post-cancellation charge quickly once they see the proof, and card issuers generally expect you to have tried the merchant first for consumer disputes. Keep it short and specific:

State the cancellation date and the confirmation reference.
List each charge after that date, with dates and amounts.
Ask for a refund of those charges to the original payment method, and give a short reply window (a few business days is reasonable).
Keep the message polite and factual — threats and accusations do not speed up refunds, and the message itself may end up in front of your issuer.

If the merchant refunds, check the statement to confirm the credit lands, and confirm the subscription stays cancelled. If the merchant refuses, says no cancellation exists, or does not reply, move to step 3 with the message and the reply (or lack of one) attached to your evidence.

Step 3: The card chargeback

Dispute only the charges dated after your cancellation. Visa's reason code for this is 13.2, Cancelled Recurring Transaction: the cardholder claims to have been charged for a cancelled recurring transaction, and the issuer window is generally 120 days from the transaction date. Mastercard routes the same complaint through its cardholder-dispute code family — your issuer assigns the code, so describe the facts (cancelled on this date, charged on that date) rather than demanding a particular code number.

What to send your issuer: the cancellation proof, the merchant message and any reply, the statement lines for the disputed charges, and a one-paragraph timeline (subscribed, cancelled on this date, charged on these dates, merchant response). File it in writing as well as by phone where the issuer allows it, and keep copies of everything. Expect the merchant to respond — a common defence is that you used the service after the cancellation date or cancelled after the charge — which is why the dates, not the argument, win the case. If you are unsure whether your case qualifies before you file, run it through our free case checker first rather than guessing.

Cancelled early vs forgot to cancel

This is the distinction that decides most subscription disputes, so be honest with yourself about which side you are on:

Cancelled early but billed anyway — strong case. You cancelled before the billing date, the merchant charged you anyway, and you can prove both dates. Refund first from the merchant, chargeback second. Each post-cancellation charge is its own dispute, with its own 120-day clock.
Forgot to cancel — weak chargeback case, but not a lost cause. If the subscription was still active when the charge hit, the merchant was entitled to bill you, and a chargeback will usually fail. Your routes are: cancel immediately, ask the merchant for a goodwill or partial refund (unused period, first charge after a free trial, misleading trial terms), and check the trial and renewal terms you agreed to. A merchant that hid the renewal or charged before the trial ended is a different complaint from one that billed a subscription you simply forgot.
Cancelled mid-period, annual plan, or notice-period terms — middle case. Some plans run to the end of the paid period after cancellation, and some require notice before renewal. Read the terms you accepted: a charge inside a paid period you had already bought is not the same as a charge after a completed cancellation, and your issuer will ask which one it is.

One more trap: replacing your card does not reliably stop recurring billing. Card updaters can carry the new details to merchants you authorised, which is why cancelling with the merchant — and keeping the proof — matters more than cancelling the card.

Evidence that wins, and mistakes that lose

Wins: dated cancellation confirmation; statement lines after the cancellation date; a written merchant message with a clear ask; a short timeline your issuer can follow without calling you.
Loses: disputing charges from before you cancelled as if they were post-cancellation; filing without contacting the merchant; disputing the whole subscription history instead of the post-cancellation charges; missing the 60-day written-notice window while waiting on a phone call.
Also loses: continuing to use the service heavily after claiming cancellation and then disputing the charge — merchants can show post-cancellation use as a defence, so stop using the service when you cancel, or say plainly why a final use was necessary.

FAQ

I cancelled but the merchant says I never did. What proves it?

Your cancellation confirmation email, screenshot or reference number with a date, or the merchant's own written confirmation of the cancellation date. If you cancelled by phone with no confirmation, ask the merchant in writing to confirm the date — and keep your note of the call (date, time, number, name given). Without dated proof, the case is much harder.

Can I dispute every charge since I signed up?

No. A cancelled-recurring dispute covers charges after your cancellation date, each with its own roughly 120-day window. Charges from before you cancelled, when the subscription was active, are not cancelled-recurring charges — disputing them as if they were weakens the genuine part of your case.

I forgot to cancel a free trial. Can I still get my money back?

A chargeback will usually fail for a charge that hit while the subscription was still active. Cancel immediately, then ask the merchant for a goodwill refund — especially if the trial terms were unclear or the charge came before the trial was meant to end. Keep the trial terms and the charge dates; they decide whether this is a billing complaint or simply a forgotten subscription.

Will getting a new card stop the charges?

Not reliably. Recurring billing can follow you through card updaters to the replacement card. Cancel with the merchant, keep the proof, and if charges continue after cancellation, dispute them as cancelled-recurring charges rather than relying on the new card alone.

Charged After You Cancelled — the Subscription Refund and Chargeback Ladder

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