Trying out products and services has always been a way of testing what works for you. This article will discuss how to cancel a free trial if you decide it’s not the service or product you need.
With free trials, you can enjoy many paid services throughout the trial period without actually paying.
If you want to unsubscribe, free trials can be canceled before it ends, but most free trial services won’t be available for use, while some will.
But be aware, most companies guise under the umbrella of “free trials” to constantly charge your credit card.
So before opting for a free trial, it is advisable to know how to cancel it; check their app or website to see if there are written steps to cancel a paid subscription.
Most companies operate in a shady way. They mostly use the negative option to get money from customers; they bill you since you didn’t opt out of your free trial subscription.
The best thing you should do to avoid further and unexpected billing is to know the duration of the free trial period; set a reminder to cancel it before it charges you.
So, before you get charged for a free trial, you should contact them to cancel it, or you can cancel it through app stores, e.g., play store or apple store, depending on where you downloaded it.
Many users forget about the subscription they made; I mean, 30 days can be very long, especially if you have a lot of paid apps; most times, users even delete the app.
But deleting an app does not mean your free trial has been canceled; because your credit card information was saved in their database, so you will only be deleting the app, not the database.
So, with that being said, let us look at ways we can stop a free trial.
Identify how long is the trial period
The biggest mistake you can make while opting for a free trial is to assume you won’t be charged after your free trial period.
Though some company don’t charge after a free period, that’s like 10% of them, the remaining 90% uses the negative option to charge you; which means they will take your refusal to cancel your subscription as your consent to keep getting charged: which is still within their rights.
So, the best thing to do is to know how long that free trial will last, then cancel it before it expires.
I have seen some companies try to hide their free trial period, especially product-based free trials. They usually confuse customers with the “30 days money-back guarantee” phase.
Most people assume free trials are generally supposed to be 30 days, but most free trials can be as short as two weeks, seven days, or even three days.
The point here is, if you don’t understand what you are reading and agreeing to, don’t opt in; walk away.
Always try to take note of the free trial length period, make a reminder and cancel the subscription 24 hours before it expires.
Contact the company customer care
You can contact customer care and ask them to show you how to stop a free trial; if they have a way you can do it by yourself, then use the option.
Applications that offers service-based free trials are usually the easiest to cancel than product-based free trials.
If you subscribe to an app service free trial, you can easily cancel subscription under the app “Account setting Icon” or “app settings”.
Most times, this isn’t the best option, especially for product-based subscription because if a company wants to charge you for a free trial, then canceling it for you can take a long time, especially if you are making the call a few hours before the trial period ends.
But not all companies are shady; most customer services are always ready to solve queries and issues facing consumers.
So, if you will be using this method to cancel your subscription, please make sure you contact them 48 or 24 hours before the trial period ends.
When you contact the company’s customer support in charge of your free trial, ensure you confirm that they have canceled the subscription; also, keep a record of your interactions with them (so you can file for dispute if they fail to do so).
Contact your bank customer service
If you subscribe to a free trial that seems challenging to cancel, your best bet is to contact your bank and get them to stop the payment.
Most companies offering free trials make it difficult to cancel these subscriptions, and they keep charging you even if you no longer need their service or products.
So, calling the bank to block your credit card permanently and getting a new one will go a long way to solving this.
This option can cost you a little but will not be comparable to the heavy bills coming your way.
Most times, your old bills are moved to your new card; make sure the bank representatives cancel any bill payments you don’t want.
Contact your credit card company
If you want to cancel a free trial that you subscribed to with your credit card, you should contact your credit card company to help block your card.
The next thing you can do is to file for a dispute (also called a “cashback”).
If you are wondering how to contact your credit card company, you have two options: visit their website or call them.
When you visit the website, see how you can block your card or file for a dispute (or cashback); if you don’t want to do this, call the number on the back of your credit card,
Tell them you want to cancel a subscription and file for a dispute or cashback.
Suppose you are filing for a dispute (or cashback). It is advisable to keep a record of the interactions with the company who were supposed to cancel it for you.
Create a Virtual card to cancel free trials easily.
Using a virtual card if you are trying out new free trials.
Subscribing for free trials with a virtual card will help you manage card subscriptions with just few taps. on the screen
It is easy to create a virtual credit card, and way easier to control than a physical card; you just have to log in to your bank mobile and use the create card option.
With a virtual card, you have more control, and you can cancel free trials by blocking the virtual card you used to get the free trial offer.
You don’t need to call a credit card agent or your bank customer care number to help you out here,
Cancel Free Trials through subscription management apps
Suppose you think blocking your credit card is too much. In that case, another option to consider is employing the services of some subscription management apps.
These applications can read your bank and credit card statements and show you how much you spend on a free trial subscription; you might be surprised how many free trials you must have forgotten.
They will also show you a chart of how much you have spent and saved; this will help you manage your spending well.
The best app for canceling free trials is the Truebill app, it helps display all your subscriptions from a dashboard, plus you can easily cancel them for free.
But if you want Truebill to cancel free trial subscriptions without you doing it manually, you have to upgrade to the premium service, which will cost you $3-$12 monthly.
You can stop your free trial through the Google Play Store or an android device.
Another excellent option is to stop free trial subscriptions with app stores.
If you downloaded the app through Google Play, it will help you do just that.
Users using Google services/products has always been protected, so canceling free trials on Google Play Store is as easy as taping or clicking a few options.
Google Play Store will also show you lists of apps you have been subscribed to; through this library; you can stop the free trial you wanted.
To see a free trial subscription, you opt-in through your android device and follow these steps.
1. Open your device’s Settings app. > Tap Google
2. Manage your Google Account. (if you have more than two Gmail, choose the email, you used in your play store).
3. Select Payments & subscriptions.
4. To cancel, tap Manage subscriptions, then choose the app subscription you want to remove.
Choose Cancel subscription at the bottom of the page.
To see a free trial subscription, you opt-in through the play store; follow these steps.
- Open the Play Store on your device.
- Tap the Profile picture on the top left-hand side.
- Select Payments & subscriptions.
- Click Subscriptions. (Under Subscriptions, you will see a list of apps you pay for and the next date you’ll be charged.)
- Click Cancel subscription.
- Within the confirmation pop-up, click Yes.
If you have a subscription with an app and the app gets removed from Google Play, Google will cancel your future subscription.
In case you have been charged on a subscription, see if you can get a refund through google
Cancel Subscriptions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Ending a free trial subscription with your iOS device is also very simple. You can cancel a subscription with a few taps or clicks without breaking a sweat.
Please note that only services you got from the apple store can be canceled; you can also use the below steps to cancel a subscription from services like Apple Music, Hulu, Spotify, etc.
How to cancel free trial subscriptions on your iPhone or iPad
These are
the steps to stop a free trial from your iOS device;
- On your iPhone or iPad, open the App Store.
- Tap your profile icon.
- Locate and tap on Manage Subscriptions.
- After that, select Cancel Subscription or Cancel Free Trial
- Click on confirm.
How to stop free trial subscriptions on your Mac
These are the steps to end a free trial from your Mac (laptop or desktop); make sure you are signed in.
- Open the App Store app.
- Click on Store
- Then, select View My Account
- Locate and click the Manage section.
- Click the “Cancel Subscription.”
- Then click confirm.
How to cancel free trial subscription through PayPal
You can also cancel your free trial subscription easily if you have used PayPal as a payment method.
What you should do is;
- Log in to your PayPal account.
- Click Profile at the top of the page.
- Click My Money > update beside My preapproved payments to find your payment.
- Select the payment, and then click Cancel.
Some Frequency Asked Questions concerning free trial
Free Trials cannot be deleted, note that if you delete the app you subscribed on, you free trial will still be running.
It can be canceled, you have to contact the app support, or use play store or apple store to cancel if possible.
Yes, free trials can be canceled before it ends, but on most cases you won’t have access to the trial service if you cancel.
What you should do is make a reminder to cancel 48 or 24 hours before the trial ends.
If your free trial is ending on the 7th day; typically, you get charged to continue with the paid service.
If you have been charged after the free trial it always comes up on your credit card statements.
No, you don’t have to have any money in your account for a free trial, you only submit your credit card details to be charged after the trial period
Credit cards also serve as a payment method, so with your card details, the company can charge you once your trial length elapses.
Drawing the curtains
Remember, the whole idea is to cancel this free trial before it expires; if unfortunately, you have been charged already, you can cancel your subscription after your trial period has ended.
Therefore, the best thing to do is to cancel before it ends; the above guides can help you cancel your free trial subscription and prevent further charges on your bank account.
If you have been charged already after a free trial expires, here is how to stop automatic deduction from your account.
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