A subscription billed you after you cancelled, charged a price you never agreed to, or hit your card for something you never signed up for. You can dispute it with your card issuer — but only some cases qualify, and a sloppy filing gets rejected. Here is when a dispute will stick, when it won't, and exactly how to file it so it actually wins.
Before you dispute: forgetting to cancel a subscription is not a valid reason to dispute a charge — the issuer will likely deny it. A dispute is for charges that are genuinely wrong: billing after you cancelled, a price you never authorized, a free trial that converted without consent, or a charge you never made. Cancel the subscription at the source first, then dispute only what remains wrong.
Identify the merchant on your statement first — many bill under a parent or "doing business as" name. A charge you forgot to cancel is a forgotten subscription, not a billing error, and will be rejected. A charge that kept coming after you cancelled, a wrong amount, or one you never authorized is disputable.
Pull together the proof: the cancellation confirmation email or screenshot, the date and amount of the charge, the merchant name exactly as it appears, and any messages with the company. The stronger your paper trail, the more likely the dispute holds.
Notify your issuer within 60 days of the statement date the error appeared on. You can usually do this by phone, an online dispute form, or mail. State the merchant name as shown, the date, the disputed amount, and the reason. This 60-day window is your federal protection under the Fair Credit Billing Act — do not let it lapse.
If you dispute by phone or online, the FTC advises following up with a written letter to the address listed for billing errors. Use certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof the issuer received it. Keep copies of everything you send.
The issuer investigates and either reverses the charge or explains why not. If it is denied and you have new evidence — like a cancellation timestamp the merchant ignored — you can respond with that documentation. Watch the next statement to confirm the charge does not return.
A charge worth disputing usually means a subscription slipped past you — and there are often more. SubScan adds up every recurring charge from your own records, flags the ones you've stopped using, and ranks your fastest savings — so you catch them before they become a chargeback. Everything stays on your device: no bank login, no account, no upload.
Find your hidden recurring charges →Usually not. Forgetting to cancel is not a valid billing-error reason, so issuers typically deny it. What is disputable is a charge that kept coming after you cancelled, a price you never authorized, or a charge you never made. Cancel at the source first, then dispute only the charges that are genuinely wrong.
For the strongest federal protection under the Fair Credit Billing Act, file within 60 days of the statement date on which the error appeared. Some issuers allow disputes beyond that under card-network rules, but the 60-day window is the one backed by law, so act inside it.
You can usually start by phone or an online form, but the FTC advises following up with a written letter to the address listed for billing errors. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof the issuer received your claim, which matters if the dispute is contested.
A dispute, or chargeback, reverses a charge that already posted and that you believe is wrong. A stop payment blocks a future recurring charge before it happens. Use a dispute to recover a charge that already hit, and a stop payment to prevent the next one.
Include the business name exactly as it appears on your statement, the date of the charge, the disputed amount, and the reason. Attach your evidence, such as the cancellation confirmation and any messages with the company. A clear paper trail makes the dispute far more likely to succeed.
For informational purposes only — not financial or legal advice. Consumer-protection rules such as the Fair Credit Billing Act apply in the United States, can change, and timelines and outcomes vary by issuer and card network; confirm the current process with your own bank or card issuer. Brand and service names are used for identification only.