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Trust check · How people get caught

The free trial that quietly becomes a subscription

You gave a card to prove you were real. The trial ended and the charges started, and nobody told you the date.

How it works

  1. 01

    A trial is offered for seven or fourteen days and a card is required "for verification". No money is taken, so it feels free.

  2. 02

    The date the trial ends is not shown anywhere you will see it again. It is not in a confirmation email, and often not in the account either.

  3. 03

    On that date a full charge appears. Because the amount is modest and the name on the statement is unfamiliar, it can run for months before anyone notices.

  4. 04

    By the time it is noticed, the money already taken is treated as a normal payment for a service you did not cancel.

What to look for before you pay

  • A card is requested for a trial that is described as free.

  • The page says "cancel any time" but does not say where or how.

  • You cannot find the end date of the trial before you sign up.

  • The price after the trial is in smaller type than the price during it, or on a different page.

What to do

  • Before signing up, find the cancellation page. If you cannot find it while they want your money, you will not find it when they have it.

  • Write the trial end date in your calendar the day you sign up, two days early.

  • Check the statement name the charge will appear under. Unfamiliar names are how these run unnoticed.

These describe practices, not companies. Nothing here is an allegation about any named business, and none of it is legal advice. Where money has already been taken, your bank or payment provider is the party who can stop a recurring instruction.