Step 1: cancel today, in writing
Being charged after a free trial usually means the subscription is now live and will charge again. Cancel first, so the problem does not repeat, then deal with the refund. Use the account page if there is a cancel option, or email the company. Say the date you signed up, the date you were charged, and that you are cancelling. Keep a copy. If the company makes cancelling hard, that itself can be an unfair practice, and you can say so.
Step 2: check whether you are inside a cooling-off period
If you signed up online, by phone or at your door, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you 14 days from the day you signed up to cancel and get a refund, less a fair charge for any service you used after asking it to start. The clock runs from sign-up, not from the first charge, so a 30-day free trial has usually run past it. Use the cooling-off calculator to see your last day.
Step 3: ask the company for a refund, politely and once
Most companies refund a first post-trial charge when asked promptly, because chargebacks cost them more. Write: "I was charged on [date] after a free trial I did not intend to continue. I have cancelled. Please refund the charge of [amount] to my card. I did not use the service after the trial." If you did use it, say so and ask anyway. Give them a few working days.
Step 4: involve your bank if needed
Your bank or card provider can stop the continuing payment authority so nothing further is taken. It can also raise a chargeback where the company charged after you cancelled, took a different amount from the one shown, or ignored a refund it owes. Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Revolut and Starling let you see and cancel recurring card payments in the app. A charge you agreed to and forgot is the weakest chargeback case, so try the company first.
Step 5: escalate if the company refuses
Contact Citizens Advice consumer service for free help; it can pass cases to Trading Standards. Keep every email. If the company misled you about the trial, the price, or how to cancel, that may breach consumer protection law regardless of the refund question.
What changes on 1 January 2027
For subscriptions taken out on or after that date, the new UK subscription rules require the business to send a reminder before a free trial turns into a paid subscription, within a timeframe it told you at sign-up, and to give you a new 14-day cooling-off period after the trial converts, with a refund if you cancel inside it. If you signed up online, you must be able to cancel online. The rules do not apply to trials started before that date. Read the free trial rule FAQ and the full guide, or use the checker to see whether a subscription is covered.
Never get charged after a free trial again
Put the trial end date in the free trial and renewal tracker. It creates a calendar reminder three days and one day before, stays in your browser, and needs no account. Many bank apps also flag new recurring payments.
Frequently asked questions
I forgot to cancel my free trial and was charged. Can I get a refund?
Often, but not always. If you signed up online or by phone before 1 January 2027, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you 14 days from the day you signed up to cancel for a refund, not 14 days from the first charge. After that it depends on the company's own policy, but many refund a first charge if you ask promptly and politely. For subscriptions taken out on or after 1 January 2027, the new rules give you a fresh 14-day cooling-off period starting when the trial converts, with a refund right.
Will my bank refund a free trial charge?
Your bank can cancel the continuing payment so nothing more is taken, and it can raise a chargeback if the company took money you did not agree to, charged after you cancelled, or did not send the reminder it promised. A charge you agreed to in the terms and simply forgot about is harder to reverse, so ask the company first and keep its reply.
Does the company have to remind me before a free trial ends?
Not under the current law. From 1 January 2027, for subscriptions taken out on or after that date, businesses must send a reminder before a free or discounted trial converts, within a timeframe they stated when you signed up, and must let you cancel online if you signed up online.