Recurring Charge You Didn’t Authorize? Stop It Now

Recurring charge you did not authorize? Get a ready-to-send dispute letter in minutes.

What an Unauthorized Recurring Charge Means

A recurring charge you did not authorize is a repeated card or bank transaction from a merchant, subscription, app, or payment processor you did not approve.

Recurring charges are urgent because they can continue monthly or annually until the merchant, account, or card billing is stopped.

Common sources include:

• subscription renewals
• free trials converting to paid
• app subscriptions
• membership plans
• payment processors
• unauthorized use of saved card details

What This Charge Looks Like

The descriptor can appear in several formats:

• RECURRING PAYMENT
• SUBSCRIPTION CHARGE
• MONTHLY BILLING
• AUTO RENEWAL
• CARD ON FILE
• MEMBERSHIP PAYMENT

The exact wording varies by bank, card network, merchant, and payment processor. A charge from the same source may look different on a debit card, credit card, or exported statement.

Why You Were Charged

You may see this charge because of:

• a subscription renewed
• a trial converted to paid
• someone used your card for a membership
• a cancellation did not process
• a merchant kept billing
• card details were saved without clear consent

Why This Charge Is Confusing

Recurring descriptors often do not show the product name. The bank may show a processor, while the actual subscription sits inside a separate app or account.

Shared cards, delayed posting, shortened descriptors, and processor names can make a real charge look suspicious or hide an unauthorized transaction.

That is why the charge should be verified before you ignore it, cancel the wrong service, or file the wrong dispute.

How To Verify the Charge

1. Search the exact descriptor.
2. Check app store and merchant subscriptions.
3. Review email receipts.
4. Look for trial conversion dates.
5. Cancel unknown active plans.
6. Save cancellation proof.
7. Dispute if unauthorized or still billing.

If you cannot match the charge to a known purchase, account, receipt, or authorized user, treat it as suspicious and document what you checked.

Quick Comparison: Legit vs Suspicious

How To Stop Future Charges

• cancel through the merchant or app store
• remove the saved payment method
• save cancellation confirmation
• contact support in writing
• replace the card if needed
• dispute unauthorized repeats

When You Should Dispute

Dispute if you did not authorize the recurring billing, cannot find a matching account, or the merchant keeps charging after cancellation.

Before disputing, screenshot the charge, save account history, and document support attempts. Clear evidence helps your bank understand why the transaction should be reversed.

If the charge is valid but unwanted, cancellation is usually the right path. If it is unauthorized, duplicated, still billing, or cannot be identified, then a bank dispute becomes more appropriate.

FAQ

If this repeats again, dispute becomes harder