First, Check Whether a Free Trial Charged You or Only Held Your Card
If a free trial charged you after you cancelled it, start by checking that you were charged at all. Some transactions during a trial are temporary holds that fall away on their own, and a real charge can show up a day earlier than you expect. Disputing a hold wastes your time, and so does chasing a charge that was valid.
This playbook takes the steps in the order the FTC and the CFPB suggest: check the charge, find out why it happened, gather proof, ask the vendor in writing, and only then dispute it with your card company. It is written for the United States and for software and SaaS subscriptions. It is general information, not legal advice.
| What you see | What it usually is | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A "Pending" transaction while the trial is still running | A verification charge that checks your card | Wait. Grammarly says it is removed if you cancel, or replaced by the real charge if you keep the plan. |
| A charge of about $1 after you add or update a card | A card-authentication hold | Wait. Canva says it reverses on its own within 7 to 10 banking days. |
| The full plan price, a day before your trial end date | A real charge, shown early because of time zones | Check the trial end date and the time you cancelled. |
| The full plan price, after the trial end date | A real charge | Work through the rest of this playbook. |
Canva's help pages say its billing system can make a charge appear a day earlier than you expected, depending on your time zone, and that it charges a day before your billing date. So the date on your statement is not always the date your trial ended.
Why a Free Trial Can Become a Charge After You Cancelled
Once you know it is a real charge, find the likely cause. These are the ones vendors document themselves. Several of them are the same ones we found when we read Canva's, Grammarly's and Shopify's own help pages.
The trial ended before your cancellation counted
A trial converts at a set time, and a cancellation made close to that time may not count. Canva's billing system can charge a day before your trial end date, so cancelling on the last day can be too late. Cancel at least a day before the end date, and earlier if you can. Apple's own advice for trials bought through the App Store is to cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends.
You cancelled one account and another is still billing you
Canva and Grammarly both name this as a cause, and merchants on Shopify's forum suggest it too. A second email address or sign-in method can create a second account, and a second team or store bills separately. Search your inbox for the vendor's billing emails sent to every address you use, and compare them with the account you cancelled. Our guides to Canva and Grammarly show how each vendor tells you to look.
The plan was bought through an app store
If you started the trial inside a mobile app, Apple or Google may be the one billing you. Cancelling on the vendor's website does not stop that, and refunds for those purchases come from the store. Check your Apple or Google subscriptions list for the vendor's name.
The trial converted into the annual plan
The plan a trial turns into is not always the monthly one. On a seven-day Grammarly Pro trial we checked in October 2026, the Subscription page said the trial would end on a stated date and time and then charge $144.00 USD plus applicable taxes for an annual Pro subscription with one seat. A charge that large after a trial is often an annual plan, so check which plan the trial said it would start.
The cancellation did not go through
Canva sends a confirmation email when a plan is cancelled, and says that if you cannot find one, the cancellation may not have completed. Look for the confirmation, and check the billing page of the vendor. If it still shows an upcoming renewal, the plan is still active.
Gather Your Proof Before You Contact Anyone
Everything that follows works better with a dated record. The FTC's advice is to keep a copy of your cancellation request, along with notes about any conversations you had about cancelling. Collect these before you write to anyone.
The email or screen that shows the date and time you cancelled. Save the email, and take a screenshot of the billing page showing the cancelled status.
The statement line, with the date, the amount and the merchant name. If the vendor emailed a receipt, keep the invoice number.
A screenshot of the trial end date and what it said it would charge. The FTC says the terms should state exactly what you are agreeing to, the length of the trial and how and when to cancel.
The date, who you spoke to, and what they said, including chat transcripts.
BillSensor can help with the second and third items. It saves the trial and its end date when you open the billing email. Pro and Business plans can also download a cancellation record for a subscription you have marked as cancelled. On the Free plan you can mark a subscription as cancelled, with an undo, but the downloadable record is not included.
How to Ask the Vendor for a Refund
Cancelling and getting money back are separate things, and most vendors treat a charge after a trial as a refund request, not an error. Ask in writing, so there is a record, and ask for a reply in writing too. Here is what four vendors publish about refunds.
| Vendor | What it documents |
|---|---|
| Shopify | Refund requests for the first invoice after a trial are reviewed within 30 days of the invoice date. Being inside the window means eligibility for review, not a guaranteed refund. |
| Canva | In most cases subscriptions are not refundable, but Canva reviews every refund request. A trial started without payment details ends on its own and is not charged. |
| Grammarly | Cancelling during a trial ends it immediately, with no charge. Refunds are issued only if required by law, and for a payment made in error you submit a support request. |
| Adobe | On the annual plan billed monthly, after 14 days a cancellation fee of 50% of the remaining contract balance applies. |
Each of these comes from the vendor's own pages, read in October 2026, and policies change, so check the live page for your vendor. Our guide to Shopify covers its refund windows in detail. A short, factual message works best. This one uses fictional placeholders, so replace everything in brackets.
Subject: Refund request, charge on [date], account [your email]
Hello,
I started a free trial of [plan] on [date] and cancelled it on [date]. The cancellation confirmation is attached. On [date] my card was charged [amount], invoice [number].
I am asking for a full refund of this charge, and for written confirmation that no further charges will be taken. If you cannot refund it, please tell me why.
Thank you,
[Your name]
Send it through the vendor's support form or the email address on your invoice, and keep a copy. Give them a few days to reply before you take the next step.
When to Dispute the Charge With Your Card Company
If the vendor refuses or does not reply, the next step is your card company. The FTC says that if you were charged without your consent and the company will not refund you, you can dispute the charge, also called a chargeback, with your card company right away. The process below is the one the CFPB and Regulation Z describe for US credit cards. Debit cards and other countries work differently.
The credit card dispute, in order
Use the number on the back of your card, or the dispute option in your online account. Explain that you cancelled a free trial and were charged, and ask what they need from you. The CFPB says to call right away and let them know about the problem.
To protect your rights, the notice must reach the card company within 60 days after the statement that shows the charge. Send it to the billing error address on your statement, which can differ from the payment address. Include your name, account number, the type, date and amount of the charge, and why you believe it is wrong, with copies of your proof. The FTC suggests certified mail with a return receipt, and has a sample letter.
Under Regulation Z, the card company must acknowledge a billing error notice in writing within 30 days, unless it has already resolved the dispute.
The rule gives the card company two complete billing cycles, and no more than 90 days, to resolve it. If it decides you are wrong, it must tell you why in writing. While a dispute is pending, you need not pay the disputed amount.
A dispute is not automatic. The card company decides, and if it finds you wrong it must tell you why in writing. If you already paid, the CFPB says you probably will not get the money back until the card company decides you were right. Some vendors say they suspend or close an account after a chargeback, so save anything you still need first. Our guide on what to do when a SaaS won't let you leave covers the longer escalation ladder.
Report it
If you had trouble cancelling, or were charged for a subscription you did not agree to, the FTC asks you to report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. A report does not recover your money, but it adds to the record.
How to Stop the Next Free Trial Turning Into a Charge
Most trial charges come from one missed date. Put the end date in your calendar the day you start, and cancel a day or more before it. Check your statements after you cancel, because the FTC warns that charges can continue. Our interactive audit of forgotten free trials shows what they can cost.
Removing or replacing your card is not a reliable fix. Canva and Grammarly both say banks can keep a recurring subscription alive after a card is cancelled or expired, through automatic card-update services. Cancel with the vendor, and keep the confirmation.
BillSensor reads billing emails, so it can see a trial when you open the email that starts it. In Gmail it detects a billing email from a supported tool when you open it, with no Gmail connection to set up, and it saves the trial with its end date. For trials of seven days or less, the warnings move closer: the first at half the trial length, rounded down, and the last one day before the first charge. On the Free plan you get the early warning, and the one-day warning is Pro and Business.
When a trial ends, BillSensor asks whether it converted. On the Free plan the extension asks inside its popup, for your 5 slotted subscriptions. On Pro and Business it also emails you with a one-click answer, and trials are left out of your spend total. There are limits. BillSensor works from billing emails, so it cannot see a charge that never sends a receipt. It cannot cancel a subscription, stop a charge, or get a refund for you.
Check your subscriptions with BillSensor
BillSensor detects billing emails from the SaaS tools you pay for, saves each trial with its end date, and alerts you before the first charge.
Add BillSensor to Chrome, free →Free account required. No Gmail connection needed. Outlook and Microsoft 365 supported.