The Free Trial That Never Stopped Charging My Card (Part 2)
July 30, 2026
Com 0
By Jackson Godwin. Cybersecurity Analyst & Penetration Tester.
Customer Support Was Hard to Find
I searched the website for a customer support number.
There wasn’t one.
Only a contact form.
I filled it out and explained that I wanted to cancel my subscription and requested that no further charges be made.
An automated email arrived almost immediately.
“Thank you for contacting us. A member of our team will respond within 48–72 hours.”
Meanwhile, my subscription remained active.
Another Payment Appeared
Before anyone replied to my message, I received another notification from my bank.
Another subscription charge had been processed.
I couldn’t believe it.
I had already requested cancellation.
Yet the company continued billing my credit card.
At that point, I stopped viewing it as a simple mistake.
I Read the Terms More Carefully
This time, I opened the company’s terms and conditions.
Hidden in several paragraphs of legal text was an important sentence.
It explained that:
The free trial automatically converted into a paid subscription unless cancelled before the trial ended.
Renewals would continue automatically until cancelled.
Refunds were subject to the company’s policy.
The information was there.
But it wasn’t obvious.
I had clicked “I Agree” without reading it carefully.
The Website Was Designed to Keep Me Paying
The more I explored the account settings, the more frustrating the experience became.
Signing up had taken less than two minutes.
Cancelling required:
Logging into the account.
Navigating through multiple settings.
Confirming the cancellation several times.
Ignoring repeated offers to stay.
The process wasn’t impossible.
It was simply difficult enough that many people might give up.
I Called My Bank
Instead of waiting for another reply from the company, I contacted my bank.
The representative listened carefully.
She explained that recurring payments can continue until the subscription is cancelled or the merchant stops billing.
She also advised me to monitor future statements and discuss possible options for preventing further unauthorised recurring charges, depending on the bank’s policies.
That phone call reminded me of something important.
Sometimes the fastest way to stop unwanted billing is to speak with your bank—not just the company.
I Started Looking at My Other Subscriptions
Curious, I reviewed all the recurring payments linked to my card.
I was surprised by what I found.
Several services I no longer used were still charging me every month.
Some were only a few dollars.
Others were much more expensive.
Individually, they didn’t seem significant.
Together, they added up to far more than I expected.
The Lesson Became Clear
The biggest danger wasn’t a single large payment.
It was small recurring charges that quietly continued month after month.
They’re easy to overlook.
Especially when life gets busy.
That’s exactly why subscription traps can be so profitable.
In the final part of this story, I’ll explain how the situation was resolved, share practical ways to avoid free trial traps, and reveal the simple habits that can help you keep recurring charges under control.
Continue Reading:The Free Trial That Never Stopped Charging My Card (Part 3)
