Cancel a subscription

How to cancel a subscription (and stop the charge)

Recognise a recurring charge but not sure how to stop it? Pick the service below for step-by-step cancellation instructions and the common gotchas — then upload a statement to find every other subscription you may have forgotten.

Find my subscriptions Cancellation-letter tool

Cancellation guides

Don't see yours? Most subscriptions cancel from the service's account or app settings — and if the charge is a mystery descriptor, identify it first.

The pattern behind all of them: cancel where you actually subscribed (the service, or the app store / TV provider if that's where you signed up), cancel before the renewal date, and keep the confirmation. If it keeps charging, read what to do when a subscription won't stop.

Know the traps

The five cancellation traps that catch everyone

1 —You cancelled in the wrong place

If you subscribed through Apple, Google Play, Amazon Channels or a TV provider, the service's own website usually can't stop the billing — the platform owns it. The statement descriptor tells you who's actually charging you (APPLE.COM/BILL, GOOGLE *, AMZN) and that's where you cancel.

2 —Notice periods and cut-offs

Gyms often want written notice days before the billing date, meal kits lock the next box days before delivery, and many services renew a day early. Cancelling 'in time' means before the service's cut-off — not before the charge date. Each guide above lists the real deadline where the company publishes one.

3 —Commitments that outlive the cancel button

Annual plans paid monthly (Adobe is the famous one) can carry an early-termination fee, and fixed-term plans (some gyms, some streaming 'saver' tiers) keep billing the remaining instalments even after you cancel. Check what you agreed to before assuming cancel = free.

4 —Pause is not cancel

Retention flows push pausing, skipping a month or downgrading — all of which keep the billing relationship alive. If you want out, hold out for the actual cancellation confirmation, and keep it.

5 —One more charge after cancelling

Services billing in arrears (charging for the previous period) legitimately take one final payment after you cancel — it looks like a failed cancellation but isn't. If charges continue beyond that, escalate with your confirmation in hand before disputing.

Questions

Cancelling subscriptions: common questions

How do I find out what a recurring charge actually is?

Paste the statement line into the free charge lookup — descriptors often name a biller or platform rather than the service. Once you know what it is, the matching guide above shows how to cancel it.

Can my bank cancel a subscription for me?

Your bank can block future payments to a merchant (a 'stop payment' on a continuous payment authority), but that doesn't end your contract with the service — you can still owe the money. Cancel with the service first; use the bank as the backstop when a merchant won't stop charging.

Do I get a refund when I cancel?

Usually you keep access until the end of the paid period and nothing is refunded — but policies differ: some services prorate, some refund within a short window, and regulators force exceptions in some regions. Each guide's refund section covers the service's actual policy.

How do I stop forgetting subscriptions in the first place?

Upload a statement to the subscription finder every couple of months — it lists every recurring charge with its yearly cost, flags trials that converted and price rises, and takes minutes. No bank login needed.