# 01 · Cancel a subscription (email, web form or chat)

**Use when:** you want out of any recurring charge: streaming, apps, software, memberships, boxes.
**Time:** 3 minutes. **Send it:** from the email address on the account, so they can match you.

Before you send:
1. Try the self-serve route first: account settings → "Manage subscription" / "Cancel". On iPhone, App Store subscriptions live in Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions. On Android: Play Store → profile → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions.
2. If cancelling is buried, slow or only "by phone", send this message. It creates a dated written record.
3. Screenshot every confirmation screen and save every confirmation email.

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## Version A · Short and firm (works 90% of the time)

**Subject:** Cancellation request · account [EMAIL OR ACCOUNT NUMBER]

Hello,

Please cancel my [SERVICE / PLAN NAME] subscription on account [EMAIL OR ACCOUNT NUMBER], effective immediately, and stop all future charges to my [CARD TYPE] ending in [LAST 4 DIGITS].

Please reply with written confirmation of the cancellation and the date of the final charge.

I am not interested in a discount or a pause. Please do not renew or charge this account again.

Thank you,
[FULL NAME]
[PHONE, optional]

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## Version B · "Make cancelling as easy as signing up" (US, when they make it hard)

**Subject:** Cancellation request and request to stop recurring charges · [ACCOUNT]

Hello,

I signed up for [SERVICE] online in a few clicks on [APPROX. SIGN-UP DATE]. I have tried to cancel the same way and could not: [DESCRIBE: "the cancel button sends me to a phone number" / "the chat closes" / "the page asks me to call during business hours"].

Please cancel my subscription on account [ACCOUNT] today and stop all recurring charges to my card ending in [LAST 4].

Under the federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, sellers of online subscriptions must give consumers a simple way to stop recurring charges. [IF YOU LIVE IN CALIFORNIA: California's Automatic Renewal Law, as amended from July 1, 2025, also requires that I can cancel online in the same way I signed up.]

Please confirm the cancellation in writing within 3 business days. If I am charged again after today, I will dispute the charge with my card issuer and file a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and with my state attorney general.

[FULL NAME]
[ACCOUNT EMAIL]

> Note: the FTC's 2024 "Click-to-Cancel" rule was **vacated by a federal appeals court in July 2025**, so do not cite it. ROSCA (the federal law above) and state automatic-renewal laws still apply. Check your state's rules.

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## Version C · UK / EU

**Subject:** Notice of cancellation · [ACCOUNT]

Hello,

This email is my notice to cancel my [SERVICE] subscription (account [ACCOUNT]) with effect from [TODAY'S DATE / END OF THE CURRENT BILLING PERIOD]. Please stop all further payments, confirm the cancellation in writing, and confirm the date of the last payment.

[IF YOU SIGNED UP ONLINE IN THE LAST 14 DAYS: I am also exercising my right to cancel within the 14-day cooling-off period, and I request a refund of [AMOUNT], less any deduction you are allowed to make for service already used.]

Kind regards,
[FULL NAME]

> In Italy, use template 20 (Italian-language "disdetta / recesso").

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## If they keep charging you
- Card: dispute the charge (template 06). Many issuers can also block a merchant: ask "Can you block future charges from this merchant?"
- PayPal: Settings → Payments → Manage automatic payments → Cancel.
- EU direct debit (SEPA): you can ask your bank to refund an authorized direct debit within 8 weeks of the debit date, no reason needed.