How to get a refund for a subscription

To get money back for a subscription, start with whoever billed you: the company itself, Apple, Google Play or PayPal. If that doesn't work, a card dispute may be the next step, and the rules for those differ between the US and the UK, so each has its own section below. None of these routes guarantees a refund, and several have deadlines, so act soon and keep records.

Last updated October 15, 2026

Should I ask the company for a refund first?

Yes. Ask whoever billed you for the refund, and cancel the subscription at the same time so it does not renew while you wait for an answer.

Asking for a refund and canceling are separate steps. Apple, for example, says that if you were charged for a subscription you no longer want, you can also cancel the subscription. Google Play says that when you cancel, you can still use the subscription for the time you've already paid, and that in some instances you may be eligible for a refund.

Going to the company first is also the order PayPal and the FTC describe. PayPal says to contact the seller before filing a dispute with PayPal or contacting your card issuer. In the US, the FTC says to dispute a charge with your card company if you were charged without your consent and the company won't refund your money.

When you ask:

Use the company's support form, email or account page, so the request is in writing.
Say what you were charged, on what date, and why you want the money back.
Ask for written confirmation that the subscription is canceled.
Note the date of every request and every reply.

The company that bills you is not always the one that made the app. How to stop a recurring payment explains how to tell who bills you and how to stop the charges. If the charge came when a free trial turned into a paid plan, see how to avoid being charged after a free trial, which also covers what to do once you have been charged.

How do I get a refund for an App Store subscription?

Request it from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. Apple says some purchases from the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Books or other Apple services might be eligible for a refund.

Sign in to reportaproblem.apple.com.
Tap or click I'd like to, then choose Request a refund.
Choose the reason you want a refund, then choose Next.
Choose the subscription, then choose Submit.

Apple says to wait 24 to 48 hours for an update on your request, and you can check its status after you submit it. If Apple approves the request, it might take additional time for the money to return to your payment method.

A few things can get in the way:

If the charge is still pending, you can't request a refund yet. Try again after you get the email receipt.
If you can't find the charge, it may be on another Apple Account. Search your email for "receipt from Apple" or "invoice from Apple" and check which account the receipt names. A Family Sharing organizer can request refunds for purchases charged to the shared payment method.
If you have an unpaid order, you need to pay for it before you can request a refund.

Apple says refund eligibility might vary by country or region, and that in countries and regions with consumer law protections, users keep their rights under them. For refunds you can't request on reportaproblem.apple.com, Apple says to contact Apple Support. To stop the subscription from renewing, see how to cancel an Apple subscription.

How do I get a refund for a Google Play subscription?

Request it from Google Play or from the app's developer. Google says it doesn't give refunds for most Google Play purchases, with some exceptions, and that contacting the app's developer directly is often the quickest way to resolve a refund request.

Outside the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA), Google says getting a refund may depend on how long it has been since you paid:

Within 48 hours: you may be able to get a refund from Google Play, depending on the details of the purchase.
After 48 hours: contact the developer to find out if you can get a refund. Google says the developer can process refunds according to its own policies and applicable laws.

To ask Google Play on the web:

Go to play.google.com and click your profile picture at the top right.
Click Payments & subscriptions, then Budget & order history.
For the order, click Report a problem, then select the option that describes your situation.
Complete the form, note that you'd like a refund, and click Submit.

Google says you'll usually get a decision within one day, but it can take up to four days, and sending several requests for the same transaction won't speed it up. If you don't find the order, you may have bought it with a different Google Account. If you find a Google Play purchase that you didn't make, and that no one you know made, Google says to report it as an unauthorized charge within 120 days of the transaction.

In the UK and the EEA, a separate policy covers purchases made on or after March 28, 2018. Google says it gives refunds for Google Play purchases that are faulty or don't match their description on Google Play. For a subscription to digital content in an app, it says you agree that the content is available immediately and waive your automatic statutory right of withdrawal, so you won't be eligible for a refund unless the content is defective, unavailable or doesn't perform as stated. For digital services, such as file storage, it says you can cancel within 14 days of the purchase for a full refund.

Uninstalling the app does not cancel the subscription. See how to cancel a subscription on Google Play.

How do I get a refund for a subscription paid with PayPal?

Ask the merchant first, then open a dispute in PayPal's Resolution Center if you don't get a refund, within the time PayPal allows. The details below come from PayPal's US help pages, so check the version for your country.

PayPal says that to request a refund for a completed payment, you need to contact the seller. Go to Activity, select the payment and use the contact details on that page. For a subscription, the merchant's contact information is also listed in the automatic payment. If you get a refund, PayPal says the money returns to the original payment method, such as your bank, credit card or PayPal account.

If you don't get a refund, open a dispute on the PayPal website:

Go to the Resolution Center and click Report a Problem.
Select the payment and click Continue.
Select the reason for your dispute. The options include billing errors or issues with subscriptions, such as being charged more than once.
Select the option that best describes your issue and click Continue.

PayPal's time limits for opening a dispute:

Item not received: within 180 days of the date you sent the payment.
Significantly not as described: within 30 days of delivery or fulfillment of the order, or within 180 days of the date you sent the payment, whichever is sooner.
Other errors on your statement or receipt: PayPal must hear from you no later than 60 days after it sent the first statement on which the problem appeared.
Payments you didn't make: tell PayPal at once.

Once a dispute is open, you and the seller have 20 days to try to solve the problem in the Resolution Center. If you can't, escalate the dispute to a claim within those 20 days to ask PayPal to investigate and decide. PayPal often requires at least 7 days to have passed since the payment date before you can escalate. A dispute that isn't escalated closes automatically after 20 days and can't be reopened. PayPal says it usually decides a claim within 14 days, but some cases can take 30 days or longer.

If you paid through PayPal with a debit or credit card, PayPal says you may be able to dispute the transaction with your card issuer instead, but you can't do both at the same time. Once you go to your card issuer, you can't open a PayPal dispute for it later. If you go to PayPal first and it decides against you, PayPal says you can still try your card issuer. To stop future charges, see how to cancel a PayPal automatic payment.

How do I dispute a subscription charge with my card in the US?

Call your card issuer and tell it about the problem right away, then follow up in writing. The rules are different for credit cards and debit cards.

For a credit card, the CFPB says that besides calling right away:

To protect your rights, send a written billing error notice within 60 calendar days after the charge appeared on your statement.
The card company then has 30 days to send you a letter confirming it received your dispute, unless it has already completed the required billing error resolution procedures in that time.
If you already paid the charge, you can still dispute it, but you probably won't get the money back until the card company has decided you were right.
If the card company finds you are correct, the charge must be removed from your bill. If it says the bill is correct, it must tell you why in writing.

The CFPB also notes that you may have to go through a different dispute process if you paid by credit card for goods or services that turn out to be defective.

For a debit card, federal law may give you additional protections against unauthorized transactions. The rules are in Regulation E, which the CFPB says protects consumers when they use electronic fund and remittance transfers. The CFPB describes an unauthorized transaction as a charge or withdrawal you didn't make or allow, and says electronic fund transfers include debit card purchases and payments set up to come out of your account automatically. According to the CFPB:

Tell your bank or credit union right away. At the latest, notify it within 60 days after it sends the statement showing the unauthorized transaction. If you wait longer, you could have to pay the full amount of any transactions made after the 60-day period and before you tell the bank.
The bank generally has 10 business days to investigate, or 20 business days if the account has been open less than 30 days.
If it can't finish in that time, it must generally give you a temporary credit for the disputed amount, minus a maximum of $50, while it investigates. If you first reported the error by phone, it can ask you to confirm in writing, and if you don't do so within 10 business days, it does not have to give the temporary credit.
It must then resolve the issue within 45 days, or up to 90 days for debit card point-of-sale purchases, transactions made in another country and transactions within 30 days of opening the account.

For automatic payments from your bank account, the CFPB says that once you have told both your bank and the company that you revoked the company's authorization, any further payments the company starts would be errors, and you can contact your bank for a refund.

Can I use section 75 or chargeback to get a subscription refund in the UK?

Possibly, if you paid by card. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives you a right that can cover some credit card purchases. Chargeback is a voluntary scheme that Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express take part in, and it can cover debit and credit card payments. The FCA explains both.

Section 75:

It can apply when you paid by credit card for goods or services that cost more than £100 but less than £30,000. If the item cost less than £100, the FCA says you can't claim under section 75, but you can claim under chargeback.
The card issuer has joint and several liability with the seller if the seller fails to supply the goods or services, supplies faulty goods or misrepresents what it is supplying. You can claim against the seller, the card issuer or both, and the FCA says the card issuer can't insist that you claim against the seller first.
A claim can only be made if the main cardholder made the purchase, not an additional cardholder or authorized user on the account.
Protection may not apply if an intermediary or third party in the payment chain breaks the arrangements between the card issuer and the seller. If you paid through another payment service, ask your card issuer whether section 75 applies.
Claims are time barred after 6 years under the Limitation Act 1980.

To claim, write to your credit card issuer saying what you bought, where and when you bought it, and how much you paid, with proof of purchase. Explain why you think the seller broke the contract or misrepresented what it sold, with any supporting evidence, and that you want the card issuer to refund you under section 75.

Chargeback:

You ask your card provider for a refund, and it tries to get the money back from the seller by reversing the transaction. The FCA says the scheme lets you claim a refund when the goods or service is not provided or is faulty.
There is usually no minimum spend.
Time limits are usually up to either 45 or 120 days from the purchase, depending on the type of card, so ask quickly.
Claims can take some time, because the card issuer has to get the money back before it can refund you.

Charges after you cancel a recurring card payment are handled differently. The FCA says any further payments a business takes after you cancel a recurring card payment are unauthorized transactions, and your card issuer must refund them and any related charges immediately. If payments continue after you cancel and you are not refunded, it says you should complain. If a recurring card payment was renewed without your consent, the FCA says to contact your card issuer, which should stop the payments and give your money back if you did not consent.

For unauthorized payments, the FCA says to tell your bank as soon as you notice and ask for a refund, and to get in touch within 13 months of the payment date, or you may not be able to make a claim.

What should I keep as proof?

Keep everything that shows what you paid, what you asked for and when. The CFPB says to keep copies of your dispute letters, write down the dates of follow-up calls and keep it all together in a file. The FTC says to keep a copy of your cancellation request, along with notes about any conversations you had about canceling.

The receipt or invoice for the charge, and the statement it appears on.
The plan's price and refund terms as they were shown when you paid, as a screenshot if you can.
The cancellation confirmation, as an email or a screenshot.
Every refund request you sent and every reply, with dates.
Notes of phone calls: the date, who you spoke to and what they said.
Any reference number for your request, dispute or claim.

Some routes ask for this directly. PayPal says it may ask for receipts and other documents once a dispute becomes a claim, and the FCA's overview of section 75 says to include proof of purchase when you write to your card issuer.

Keep the subscription on your list until its next renewal date has passed with no new charge. Subskim is a free subscription tracker that puts every renewal date on a calendar, so you know which statement to check.

Sources

More guides

See every renewal before it charges.

Put your subscriptions on one calendar, flag trials before they convert and total everything in one currency. Free, no bank login.

Get started free