Refund a subscription that kept charging after you cancelled in the EU

Once you have cancelled a subscription, any payment taken afterwards is a payment you no longer authorised. EU law treats this strongly. Because you withdrew your consent to the recurring mandate, charges that follow a valid cancellation can be challenged as unauthorised payments under the Payment Services Directive (PSD2), where your bank must refund without undue delay and the provider carries the burden of proving the payment was authorised. The key to a fast result is proof that you cancelled and when, so a dated confirmation email, screenshot or cancellation reference is your most powerful evidence. Where the provider made cancellation unreasonably hard or ignored your request, that strengthens your case. You can pursue the trader directly for a refund and, in parallel, ask your bank to reverse the post-cancellation charges and cancel the recurring authority.

Reviewed by Corey Musa, Founder·Last reviewed June 2026·LinkedIn

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Your rights

Under the EU Payment Services Directive 2 (Directive (EU) 2015/2366, PSD2), once you withdraw consent to a recurring payment mandate, subsequent charges are unauthorised and your payment service provider must refund them no later than the end of the next business day after you notify it (Article 73), with the burden of proving authorisation resting on the provider (Article 72). The Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) also requires clear contract and cancellation terms. Card scheme chargeback rules provide a further route to reverse payments taken after a cancelled subscription.

Step by step

1Locate and save your proof of cancellation, the confirmation email, screenshot, ticket number or the message you sent, with its date, so you can show exactly when you cancelled.
2Email the provider listing each charge taken after your cancellation date and demand a full refund of those payments plus written confirmation the subscription is closed.
3Instruct your bank to revoke the recurring payment mandate so no further charges can be taken, and report the post-cancellation charges as unauthorised under PSD2.
4If refunds are not made, request a chargeback for each post-cancellation payment and escalate to your national consumer authority, or contact your nearest European Consumer Centre (ECC-Net) for a cross-border trader.

What they'll say, and your comeback

“We have no record of your cancellation.”

Comeback, I have dated proof that I cancelled on a specific date. Every charge taken after that is unauthorised, and under PSD2 the burden is on you to prove I authorised it. Please refund those payments.

“Cancellations only take effect at the end of the next billing cycle plus notice.”

Comeback, Any notice period must be reasonable and clearly stated in the contract. It cannot be used to justify charges months after I cancelled, and charges beyond a valid notice period are unauthorised and refundable.

“Refunds for past billing periods are not possible.”

Comeback, These are payments taken after I withdrew my consent to the recurring mandate. Under PSD2 they are unauthorised transactions that must be refunded, and I will pursue a chargeback if they are not.

FAQ

What if I cancelled by phone or in-app and have no email?

Any evidence of the date helps: a call log, an in-app cancellation screen, a support ticket number or even a contemporaneous note. Going forward, always capture a dated screenshot or confirmation, as it makes both a refund request and a chargeback far stronger.

Can my bank stop the charges as well as refund them?

Yes. You can instruct your bank to revoke the continuous payment authority or mandate so the provider cannot take further payments, and separately ask it to refund the charges already taken after your cancellation.

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A self-serve tool, not a law firm. General information, not legal advice.