Cancelling a trial subscription in time

A while ago you took out a trial subscription, usually because of a low introductory price, and now you want to cancel it before the first regular charge. Cancelling a trial subscription sounds like a quick job, but in practice it is often the point where what started as a good decision turns into an unnecessary payment, simply because the cancellation comes a few days too late.

The reason is rarely bad will on the provider's part. It lies in how a cancellation deadline is counted technically: it often does not end on the day of the next charge, but a few days before it.

Why the cancellation deadline is often earlier than you think

Many services require a cancellation to arrive a certain number of days before the next billing date, so that it can still be processed internally in time. If you only cancel on the day of the charge itself, the next payment has often already been triggered technically, and the cancellation only takes effect for the date after that. This deadline is usually in the terms linked when you signed up for the trial, or directly in the account settings next to the cancel button.

The most common pitfalls when cancelling a trial subscription

• Cancelling through a general contact form rather than the cancellation route provided for it, which delays processing or means it comes to nothing at all.
• Assuming that deleting an app automatically ends the subscription behind it, even though the payment arrangement often carries on independently of the app.
• Overlooking a subscription that is billed through an app store or payment platform, because then you also have to cancel it there.
• With several accounts or profiles in the same household, cancelling the wrong account while the trial subscription that actually matters carries on unnoticed.

Worked example: what a missed deadline costs

Say a trial subscription turns into a regular subscription costing 12.99 euros a month after the trial period, with a cancellation deadline of three days before the next charge. If you only cancel two days beforehand, the deadline has already passed, and the charge of 12.99 euros is still taken one more time before the subscription actually ends. Had you acted three days earlier, that one charge would not have happened.

How to prove that you cancelled

After sending a cancellation, it is worth checking whether a confirmation appears by email or directly in your account, because that confirmation is your most important proof if a charge is taken anyway. A screenshot of the cancellation page with the date visible is a simple extra safeguard, especially if no automatic confirmation email is sent. If there is no confirmation at all, that in itself is a warning sign that the cancellation may not have gone through completely.

Cancellation rights depending on the country

In the EU, when you first take out a trial subscription as a distance contract, there is generally a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal, which mainly relates to entering into the contract itself and does not replace the service's later, regular cancellation route. More on how exactly this right works is explained in the article on the right of withdrawal for online purchases. These are EU rules; outside the EU, for example in the UK, the US or Canada, each country has its own rules, so there the provider's own cancellation process remains the most reliable route.

When a trial subscription was started with a discount code

Some trial subscriptions are not started through a general introductory offer but through a specific discount code, for example for the first few weeks at a reduced price. That usually changes nothing about the actual cancellation deadline, but it makes it all the more important to also remember the date from which the regular price applies without the code. If you only used the code for a one-off offer, you should take that date just as seriously as a classic trial without a discount code, because both can turn into a regular subscription in the same way.

Keeping track of several trial subscriptions at once

If you have several trial subscriptions running side by side out of curiosity, you are most likely to lose track when each one exists only in your head and is not written down. A single list with the provider, the end date and the price after the trial stops any one trial subscription from being overlooked among the others. Especially when two or three trials end in the same month, it is worth recording each deadline in that list when you sign up, not only at the end.

Keeping an eye on a trial subscription from the start

The easiest way to avoid missing a cancellation date is to note the end date of the trial as soon as you sign up, rather than relying on your memory later. How a free trial turns into a paid subscription automatically in the first place is explained in the article Free trials: what happens when they end. If a trial subscription runs through an app store rather than directly through the provider, a separate cancellation route often applies, which the article Subscriptions through the App Store or Google Play describes in more detail. A general method for keeping track of several running subscriptions at once is offered in the article Keeping track of subscriptions: cancel in time instead of forgetting. How daily-coupons.info works in general is also shown on the page How it works.

Frequently asked questions

How long before the next charge should I cancel a trial subscription?

That varies from service to service; often a cancellation is required a few days before the billing date rather than on the day itself. The exact deadline is usually in the terms or right next to the cancel button in your account.

Is deleting the app enough to end a trial subscription?

Usually not. Deleting the app only removes the software, while the payment arrangement usually continues independently until it is ended through the proper cancellation route.

What do I do if I still see a charge despite cancelling?

First, look at your cancellation confirmation and its date to check whether the cancellation really arrived before the deadline. After that, the provider's customer service is the right place to get the charge sorted out.

Does the same cancellation deadline apply to a trial subscription as to the regular subscription afterwards?

Not necessarily. Some providers set a shorter or different deadline for the trial period than for the regular subscription that follows. Looking at the current terms in each case is the best way to get clarity here.