Charged after cancelling a subscription? What to do in the UK
Being charged after you cancelled usually comes down to two different things being mixed up: ending the subscription or contract, and stopping the recurring card payment that pays for it.
Two separate things
Cancelling with the provider ends the subscription or contract under their terms. Cancelling a recurring card payment stops the payment being taken from your card. They are not the same, and doing one does not automatically do the other.
If you cancelled a recurring card payment and money still left your account
The FCA says that if you asked the business or your card issuer to stop a recurring card payment in time and further card payments are still taken, those payments are treated as unauthorised. The card issuer must refund them, along with related charges.
This applies to recurring card payments. Don't assume the same rule covers every payment method or every kind of contract.
- Contact your card issuer and explain the payment was taken after you cancelled it.
- Keep proof of when and how you cancelled: emails, screenshots, chat transcripts, reference numbers.
- Contact the provider as well, so the underlying subscription is properly closed.
If you only cancelled with the provider
Ask them for written confirmation of the cancellation date and check whether the charge covers a period before that date. If the charge looks wrong, raise it with the provider first and keep a record of every attempt.
Official sources
Last reviewed: September 2026
Want Feoh to help you sort this?
Forward the email about it and Feoh pulls out the charge, the dates and the next step, alongside the official cancellation route where we have verified one.
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