How to Stop Recurring Charges on a Credit Card

By CreditMeadow Editorial Team · Updated October 16, 2026

To stop recurring charges on a credit card, cancel with the company that bills you, keep proof that you canceled and check your next statements. If the company keeps charging you after you've canceled, the FTC says to dispute the charge with your card company, online or by phone, and to follow up in writing.

This guide covers how free trials and auto-renewals become recurring charges, a statement audit with yearly totals, what to save when you cancel, how disputes work, add-on products billed by the card issuer itself and why bank account autopay follows different rules.

How free trials and auto-renewals become recurring charges

The FTC calls this a "negative option," a common practice with free trials and subscriptions: you're billed automatically unless you tell the business to stop, and it takes your silence as permission to charge you. The CFPB lists the common forms:

• Automatic renewal plans, which renew when they expire unless you cancel by a certain date.
• Continuity plans, where you keep receiving a product or service until you cancel.
• Trial marketing plans, which are free or cheaper for a trial period and then charge you, or charge more, automatically.

A free trial usually asks for your card number so the company can charge you if you don't cancel before the trial ends, according to the FTC. An auto-renewal can also cost more than you paid last time, for example when a promotional rate ends.

Before you sign up, the FTC suggests finding the terms: what you're agreeing to, how long the trial lasts and how and when to cancel to avoid being charged. Look for pre-checked boxes that could give the company permission to keep charging you, and mark your calendar so you remember to cancel before the trial ends.

Suppose you start a free trial that converts to $20 a month and forget about it. If three monthly charges post before you notice, the "free" trial has cost $60.

Audit your statement for recurring charges

The CFPB suggests reviewing every statement closely, comparing your starting balance with the previous month's bill and looking for anything unfamiliar. For recurring charges, go back two or three statements, list everything that repeats and turn each into a yearly cost.

Suppose your list looks like this:

Six monthly charges that look small one at a time add up to $804 a year, or $903 with the annual renewal. Canceling three of them removes $34 a month, or $408 a year, and leaves $495 a year in recurring charges. Pay attention to the annual line: a charge that posts once a year is easy to miss when you scan one month at a time.

If you don't pay your full balance, the FTC notes that you pay interest on the amount you didn't pay back, so subscriptions you carry cost more than their sticker price. Our guide to credit card APR explains how the grace period works.

Cancel with the merchant and keep proof

The first step is to cancel with the company itself. The FTC suggests:

1. Contact the company that runs the subscription and follow its cancellation instructions.
2. Keep a copy of your cancellation request, along with notes about any conversations you had and how and when you canceled.
3. Watch your statements for charges after you canceled.

Useful proof includes the confirmation email or number, a screenshot of the cancellation page and the date. If you can't cancel, the FTC's advice is to call your credit card company and ask it to stop the payments. The FTC also says you never have to pay for something you didn't order.

Two cautions about renewal notices, also from the FTC. A real renewal notice is a reminder, not a bill, so it shouldn't ask for your card number. And a renewal notice for a subscription you don't have is probably from a scammer or a dishonest company; to check, contact the company at a number you know is correct, not the one in the notice.

If the recurring charges continue: dispute them

If a company charged you extra or won't stop charging you after you told it to cancel, the FTC says to file a dispute, also called a chargeback, with your card company:

• Online: log in to your card account and go through the dispute process.
• By phone: call the number on the back of your card and explain why you're disputing.
• In writing: follow up with a letter to the address listed for billing disputes or errors, to protect any rights you might have. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of what the company got.

Timing matters. You have to tell the card company about an error within 60 days of when the first statement with the charge was sent (FTC). Keep your cancellation records, since they could help prove you're entitled to a refund. While the card company investigates, the CFPB says you don't have to pay the disputed charge or related finance charges, but you're still responsible for paying correct charges on time. The letter and the issuer's deadlines are covered step by step in our guide on how to dispute a credit card charge.

One case works differently. If someone you gave your card to signed up, the CFPB says you authorized that use and remain responsible for the charge until you tell the issuer the person may no longer use the card. The same goes for an authorized user on your account.

You can report trouble canceling, or a subscription you never agreed to, to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or to your state attorney general.

Add-on products billed by your card issuer

Not every recurring charge comes from a merchant. A 2012 CFPB blog post warns that when you call to activate a new card, you may be offered "add-on products" such as credit protection or identity monitoring. They are optional, they cost money, and you don't have to buy anything extra to activate your card. Its advice is to watch your monthly statement for unfamiliar terms or fees, and to cancel by calling the number on the back of your card. If you didn't authorize the charge, tell the card company.

The CFPB has brought multiple enforcement actions over optional add-on products offered to credit card users, such as debt protection and identity protection, whose recurring fees continued until consumers canceled, according to its 2023 circular on negative option marketing.

The card's own annual fee is a recurring charge too. If you're deciding whether to keep paying it, see our guide to the credit card annual fee.

Debit cards and bank autopay: different rules

The FTC notes that legal protections for credit cards are stronger than for debit cards. When a company takes automatic payments from your bank account, the CFPB describes these steps:

1. Call and write the company to say you're taking away its permission to take automatic payments.
2. Call and write your bank or credit union to say you've revoked that authorization. After you've told both, any further payments the company starts would be errors, and you can contact your bank for a refund.
3. Use a stop payment order if your bank recommends one. Banks and credit unions generally charge fees for them.

Under Regulation E, you can stop a preauthorized electronic payment by notifying your bank orally or in writing at least three business days before the scheduled date. The bank may require written confirmation within 14 days of an oral notice; without it, the oral order stops being binding after 14 days.

Either way, stopping the payment doesn't cancel the contract. The CFPB notes that to end an ongoing service, such as cable or a gym, you need to cancel with the company as well, and if you stop automatic payments on a loan, you still have to make the payments another way.

Key takeaways

• Free trials and auto-renewals keep charging until you cancel, so note the trial's end date when you sign up.
• Audit two or three statements, list every repeating charge and convert each to a yearly cost, including annual renewals.
• Cancel with the company that bills you and keep the confirmation, dates and notes.
• If charges continue, dispute them with your card company and follow up in writing within 60 days of the statement.
• For bank account autopay, revoke authorization with both the company and your bank, and give any stop payment order at least three business days ahead.