Key takeaways
- Recurring credit card charges include any bills that are charged to your account automatically, including gym memberships and other subscription services.
- Subscriptions can be hard to keep track of and even harder to cancel.
- Using an app or subscription management tool is a popular way to find out just how many subscriptions you’re paying for and cancel the ones you don’t really need.
When everything from meal kits to music streaming to designer shoes is available by monthly subscription, keeping track of automatic charges isn’t easy. Digital subscriptions are particularly tough to track since you don’t get a tangible reminder on your doorstep or in your mailbox each month.
As the popularity of subscription services grows, so does consumer frustration over recurring charges they either forgot to cancel or couldn’t shut off due to a lack of customer service. This frustration has grown so much that the Federal Trade Commission has taken action by adopting a “click to cancel” rule. This rule, which is one of many updates to the Negative Option Rule first introduced in 1973, aims to make it as easy to cancel a subscription service as it is to sign up for one.
But that ruling might not be enough to help you get rid of unwanted subscriptions. Keep reading to learn more about recurring credit card charges and the tools available to help you cancel them.
What is a recurring charge?
A recurring charge happens when you sign up for a service that automatically bills your credit card on a regular basis. This is usually monthly, quarterly or annually, but really any schedule may be implemented.
Most often, you see recurring charges with subscription services. The most obvious subscription service that comes to mind is Netflix, but cable packages are also examples of subscription services with recurring charges. Subscription services exist for a wide variety of products and services, from exercise classes to razor refills.
While subscription services are extremely convenient, these companies are literally banking on the fact that it’s easy to forget to cancel these subscriptions if you no longer want them or find you underutilize them.
Recognizing the need for help tracking and canceling recurring charges, several startups, as well as major financial institutions like Capital One and Chase now offer tools that let users sync their credit cards or bank accounts to get help canceling unwanted subscriptions.
Here’s a look at seven of these handy tools, listed alphabetically:
1. Chase Stored Cards
Can’t remember where you’ve signed up for subscription services? It can be difficult to pinpoint all of the companies hitting you up with recurring charges. Chase credit card users can get help finding where they’ve saved their card info by using the Chase Stored Cards feature. Once you see which companies have access to your card for recurring charges, it’s a lot easier to identify where you want to cut back your spending and exactly where you need to go to cancel your subscriptions.
2. DoNotPay
DoNotPay calls themselves the “world’s first robot lawyer,” and they are ready to help you appeal parking tickets, get late delivery refunds and cancel any subscription service that is weighing you down. They can also help make sure you can take advantage of free trials without accidentally signing up for a recurring charge.
DoNotPay even provides helpful guides that anyone can check out on how to cancel specific popular subscription services. So even if you don’t sign up for their service, you can find the help you need to start canceling your subscriptions on their website.
3. Eno from Capital One
Capital One customers can use Eno to monitor their accounts, prevent fraud and track spending. Eno can also help users avoid surprise subscription charges by reminding them about when a free trial is supposed to end. That way, you don’t end up accidentally paying for a costly subscription service you don’t want.
4. Hiatus
Hiatus is an app that aims to help users improve their financial management. Hiatus does this by using machine intelligence to analyze user finances and monitor for unfair rates, as well as help users eliminate unwanted subscription services.
If you’re looking to save on some of your subscription services by linking your financial accounts to the Hiatus dashboard, you may be able to uncover which companies you should request to cut you a deal. On top of identifying these problem areas, Hiatus also provides users with personalized and actionable financial advice.
5. Rocket Money
In 2021, Rocket Companies acquired Truebill, allowing it to provide new features to its users that focused on subscription services. With this new company on board, Truebill became Rocket Money, an app that can comb user transaction history and create a convenient summary of all of their subscriptions. With the click of a button, users can ask Rocket Money to cancel most unwanted subscriptions on their behalf. This service has canceled over one million subscriptions for their members, saving them time and stress.
Rocket Money also helps users stay on top of their bills, making sure they never miss a payment and get hit with a late fee.
6. Subscription Stopper
Subscription Stopper is a free app that helps you track and manage subscriptions. You simply link your cards to the app and let the program identify all of your recurring charges. While it can’t cancel your subscriptions for you, it does offer in-depth support to guide you through the cancellation process yourself. Subscription Stopper is also unique because it provides community tips from its users. These tips can help you know what to expect as you begin the cancellation process and navigate a company’s customer service department.
7. Trim by OneMain
Using artificial intelligence, Trim by OneMain is a tool that cancels old subscription services and even contests bank fees. Of course, none of these tools can eliminate a bill that’s still under contract, so Trim has implemented features that help users lower those bills with companies like Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon, among others.
It can cost you to use Trim, but you can test out the service with a free trial and can then choose to use the free version or the premium version, which allows for bill negotiation. Bill negotiations typically cost 15 percent of your total savings for a year, but you have to pay that upfront. Trim claims to save users over $600 in their first year, so the cost of bill negotiation may be worthwhile.
How to cancel recurring payments manually
If you don’t want to use a subscription canceling service, you can always handle the cancellation process yourself.
Contact each company of the service you’re trying to cancel
This could mean going online to their website and filling out a form, or it could mean calling up their customer service line. In some cases, like for gym memberships, you might have to go to a branch in person.
Begin the cancellation process
The company might not make it easy for you, but there should still be a way to cancel the service, even if you have to jump through hoops to do so. Consider also sending a letter to the company stating the final date of service so that you can follow up with your bank if they keep charging you after that date.
Follow up after you’ve canceled your service
Make sure you get a cancellation notice from the company that makes it clear when your service will end. You should also keep an eye on your account in case they charge you again after the agreed-upon end date. If you keep seeing charges even after canceling from the company, reach out to your bank to see if they can block the merchant from charging you.
How to avoid recurring charges in the first place
After you’ve cleaned up your current subscriptions, you can take steps to avoid recurring charges from happening in the first place.
Set free trial period reminders
As soon as you sign up for a free trial of a subscription service, set a reminder to make sure you don’t accidentally stay signed up. Whenever you sign up for a free trial, you can add the trial’s end date to your calendar or use a task app like Google Tasks to send you a reminder that the trial is coming to an end. Getting a notification before the trial period expires will give you a chance to decide if you like the product or service enough to start paying for it or if you want to cancel before the recurring payment kicks in.
Add the subscription service to your budget before signing up
Before you sign up for a subscription service or any kind of recurring charge, make sure you add that new ongoing spending into your budget. Seeing how the recurring charge affects your budget may make you reconsider signing up. While a $15 monthly charge may not seem that impactful at first glance, when you add up all your recurring charges, you may find a solid amount of your budget is being automatically eaten up each month.
Share with friends and family
If your recurring charge comes from a subscription service that is easy to share (like a Hulu subscription), you can share your subscription with friends and family. Many entertainment providers even account for multiple people using one account and allow for more than one person to use the service at the same time. Before signing up for a new subscription service, see if a loved one would be willing to let you use their login and offer to share one you pay for in exchange. That way, you both save money at the same time.
The bottom line
Recurring charges on your credit card can really add up and eat into your budget. While there are some very helpful services available that can assist you in canceling unwanted subscription services, taking certain steps before signing up for these services in the first place is the best way to save money. It can be helpful to set a date once a quarter to run through your current recurring charges to make sure you still want them and to cancel any you no longer need.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about canceling recurring payments
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