Recurring credit card charges might be legitimate, or a company might trick you into signing up for an ongoing club or service that you do not want. David Miller of Fox News says that online shopping sites entice people into clicking "yes" for discounts without realizing that they are signing up for ongoing charges. Either way, you can follow certain steps to cancel a legitimate membership or stop an unknown charge.

 

 

Call the company that is putting the recurring charges on your credit card, advises The Money Saving Expert website. You cannot just stop paying the charges yourself unless you file a dispute. A contact number should be listed on your credit card statement next to the charges, if you don't already have information about the company.

 

Step Two:

 

Ask the company to cancel whatever club, service or membership it is billing to your credit card, and tell it to stop the charges immediately. Ask the company to credit any previous charges if you have been billed for several months for something you unknowingly authorized.

 

Step Three:

 

Tell the company you will dispute the charges with your credit card company if it is reluctant to stop the recurring charges. Say you also will report the company to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB), especially if you were tricked into signing up for something you did not want.

 

Step Four:

 

Call your credit card issuer if the company refuses to stop the charges or says it will but bills you again the next month. Tell the customer service representative at the credit card company that you want to file a dispute because you tried to resolve the issue directly with the company and were not successful. In most cases the card issuer will help you, although it could involve changing your account number to keep the charges from going through.

 

Step Five:

 

Report the problem to the FTC and the BBB if your credit card issuer will not help you. Credit card companies sometimes side with the company if it can prove you authorized the charges, even if you did not knowingly do so. Send a copy of your complaints to the company. Most will stop future charges, and often credit you for previous charges, if you involve outside agencies.