How to Dispute a Credit Card Charge in Canada, Including a Subscription You Cancelled

A charge shows up that you do not recognize, or one you thought you had cancelled keeps coming back every month. It is one of the most common money problems there is, and one of the most fixable. Canadian rules and the card networks give you real leverage here, most of it free, and most people never use it because they assume a charge on the statement is final. It is not.

This page walks through the exact process, and it draws a line that trips a lot of people up: fighting a genuine mistake or a merchant you cannot resolve with, versus fighting outright fraud. The steps overlap but the rules are not the same, so start by figuring out which one you have.

The short answer

For a charge that is wrong, or a subscription you cancelled that keeps billing: contact the merchant first and try to get it fixed. If they will not, file a dispute with your card issuer, in your online banking or by calling the number on the back of the card. The issuer can reverse the charge through the card network. This reversal is called a chargeback.

For a charge you never made at all (fraud): report it to your card issuer immediately. By law your maximum liability for unauthorized use is capped at $50.00 unless you were grossly negligent, and the major card networks add a zero-liability commitment on top, so you usually pay nothing.

Two things to fix in your head before you start. First, disputing a charge is not the same as cancelling the thing that caused it. If a gym or a streaming service is billing you, you still have to cancel the subscription with them, or the charges keep coming. Second, act fast. The deadlines are set by your card agreement and the card network, not by a generous national law, and they can be short.

First, which problem do you actually have?

The fix depends on the category. Be honest about which row you are in, because it changes what you say to your issuer.

What happened	What it is	Where to start
You never made this purchase and do not recognize it	Unauthorized transaction (fraud)	Call your issuer immediately, this page's fraud section
You bought something but were charged the wrong amount, or twice	Billing error / dispute	Merchant first, then dispute
A subscription keeps charging you after you cancelled it	Dispute, plus a cancellation problem	Cancel with the merchant, then dispute each new charge
You paid but never received the goods or service	Dispute (goods or services not provided)	Merchant first, then dispute
A free trial converted to a paid charge without clear notice	Dispute	Cancel, then dispute the charge

Notice that only the first row is fraud. Everything below it is a charge you or a service you signed up for set in motion, but that went wrong. Those are disputes, and the merchant is your first stop. Jumping straight to your issuer on a billing dispute without trying the merchant usually just gets bounced back to you, because contacting the merchant first is normally a condition of filing.

The steps for a wrong charge or a merchant problem

Do these in order. The paper trail is what wins a dispute, so save everything as you go.

Step 1: Contact the merchant and try to resolve it directly

Card issuers generally require you to contact the merchant first and try to sort it out before they will open a formal dispute. This is not just a hoop. A refund straight from the merchant is faster than a chargeback, and many issues are an honest error the business will fix once you point it out. Ask for a refund or a correction, be specific about the amount and the date, and keep a written record of the conversation, the reference number, and any promise they make.

Step 2: Wait for the charge to post, then file the dispute

If the merchant will not fix it or does not respond, take it to your card issuer. You usually cannot dispute a transaction while it is still pending, so you may need to wait a few days for it to post to your account first. Once it has posted, file through your online banking, in the app, or by calling the number on the back of your card. Have your evidence ready: the merchant contact attempt, receipts, the cancellation confirmation if it applies, and screenshots.

Step 3: Let the issuer run the chargeback

Your issuer reviews the dispute against the card network rules and, if it qualifies, reverses the charge and recovers the money from the merchant. Some issuers apply a temporary credit while they investigate. The merchant gets a chance to respond with evidence, so the outcome is not instant, and a dispute the merchant can prove was valid can be denied. This is normal. If your evidence is solid, keep pushing.

A chargeback is a card thing, not a bank-account thing. A recurring charge on a Visa or Mastercard runs through the card network, so the remedy is this dispute process. That is different from a pre-authorized debit pulled straight from your chequing account, which has its own rules and a 90-day reimbursement declaration you sign at the bank. If money is coming out of your bank account rather than your credit card, read our guide to stopping a pre-authorized debit instead. Same problem, different framework.

The subscription that will not die

This is the single most common version of the problem, so it gets its own section. A gym, an app, a streaming service or a box subscription keeps charging your card, and either you cancelled and it kept going, or you cannot find the cancel button at all.

Cancel with the merchant, in writing, and keep the proof

Disputing a charge does not cancel the subscription. Until you actually end it with the company, the charges keep arriving and you will be disputing a new one every month. Cancel through the account settings or in writing, and save the confirmation email or a screenshot of the cancellation. That proof is exactly what you need if a charge shows up afterward.

Then dispute any charge that lands after you cancelled

A charge that hits after a documented cancellation is a clean dispute. File it with your issuer with the cancellation proof attached. Each new post-cancellation charge is its own dispute until the billing actually stops.

Getting a new card number does not stop a subscription. A lot of people cancel their card or wait for a reissue hoping the charges will fall off. They often do not. Card networks run updater services that automatically forward recurring billing to your new card number, so the merchant keeps charging the new card. The only reliable way to stop a recurring charge is to cancel it with the merchant. Treat a new card number as a backstop, never the plan.

If it is fraud: the $50 cap and zero liability

A charge you genuinely never made or approved is an unauthorized transaction, and Canada treats it differently and more favourably than a billing dispute. Here is what the rules actually say.

Report it immediately. Notify your card issuer as soon as you spot it, report every transaction you did not make, change any exposed passwords or PINs, and keep monitoring your account and your credit report afterward.
Your legal maximum liability is $50.00. By law, your maximum liability for an unauthorized credit card transaction cannot be more than $50.00, unless you demonstrated gross negligence. Your credit card agreement must spell out your maximum liability if the card is used without your permission.
The networks go further. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Interac have public commitments to protect you against financial loss when your card is used without your permission. Under these commitments you generally will not be held responsible for the unauthorized transactions at all.
The bank must investigate. Federally regulated financial institutions must always investigate an unauthorized transaction and take all relevant factors into account before finding you at fault, regardless of the method or technology used.

Gross negligence is the catch. The $50 cap and zero liability can fall away if you contributed to the loss, for example by writing your PIN on the card, sharing it, or not reporting a lost card in the time your agreement requires. Protect your PIN, report a lost or stolen card right away, and cooperate with the investigation, and you keep the full protection.

Deadlines: why waiting costs you

There is no single friendly national deadline for disputing a card charge, and this is where people lose money that was recoverable.

The time you have to report is set by your card agreement and the card network rules. Read your agreement, and when in doubt, report immediately rather than assuming you have months.
Your issuer usually cannot dispute a charge while it is pending, so you may have to wait a few days for it to post. Do not let that turn into forgetting about it.
For unauthorized transactions, your agreement may require you to report within a specific time. If you do not, you may be held responsible and may not get the money back.
For comparison, on a chequing or savings account you generally have about 30 days after your statement date to dispute a transaction, though it varies by institution. Card timelines are their own thing, but the lesson is the same: statements exist to be read.

The practical rule is simple. Open every statement when it arrives, or better, turn on transaction alerts so a wrong charge reaches you the day it happens instead of a month later when part of the window is already gone.

The habit that prevents this

Catch a surprise charge the day it happens

Almost every one of these problems is worse than it needed to be because nobody noticed for weeks. The fix is boring and it works: turn on a real-time notification for every card and account you have, so any charge you did not expect pings your phone immediately, while the dispute window is still wide open. KOHO is a Canadian no-fee prepaid Mastercard account that sends a notification on every single transaction by default, which is a clean way to keep tight visibility on your day-to-day spending. It is a prepaid spending account, not a full chequing or credit replacement, so use it as one tightly-watched account alongside the rest. Check current plan features and any fees on the provider's own page before signing up.

See how the account works

If the merchant and the issuer both say no

Most disputes end with a refund or a reversal. When they do not, there is a formal escalation path, and it is free.

Step 1: Ask for a second review, in writing

If your issuer denies the dispute, ask why in writing and request a second review with more evidence. Your cancellation email, receipts, delivery records or screenshots often turn a no into a yes on the second pass. Be specific and factual.

Step 2: File a formal complaint with the issuer

Every federally regulated financial institution must have a complaint-handling procedure, published on its website and available in its branches. Put your complaint in writing and keep the file open. The bank must give you a detailed written response within 56 calendar days of when you first made the complaint.

Step 3: Escalate to the banking ombudsman

If the bank has given you its detailed written response and closed the file, or more than 56 days have passed, take the complaint to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments. OBSI is independent and free, and it is the route to an actual remedy. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada oversees whether banks follow their legal obligations, but it does not resolve individual complaints or recover your money.

The full contact details and the timelines OBSI works to are in our guide to your banking rights and the exact complaint path, which walks the same escalation from the bank's own process through to the ombudsman.

Five things to take away

Merchant first for a billing problem or a cancelled subscription, then dispute with your issuer if they will not fix it.
Cancel the subscription itself, in writing, and keep the proof. Disputing a charge does not end the service.
A new card number does not stop a recurring charge, because networks forward billing to it. Cancel with the merchant.
Fraud is capped at $50 by law, and the networks usually cover you fully. Report it immediately.
Act inside the window. Deadlines come from your card agreement, not a generous law, so read every statement.

Free PDF, by email

Get the free Credit Building Playbook

A plain English plan for building a Canadian credit file from zero or rebuilding a bruised one, including which products report to which bureau and what order to do things in. One file, no fluff.

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to contact the merchant before disputing a credit card charge? +

In most cases yes. Card issuers generally ask you to contact the merchant first and try to resolve the problem directly before they will open a formal dispute. A merchant refund is faster than a dispute, and having tried is often a condition of filing. Keep a record of when you contacted them and what they said. If the merchant will not fix it, or does not respond, that is when you take it to your card issuer.

Can I dispute a subscription that keeps charging my card after I cancelled? +

Yes. First cancel the subscription with the merchant directly and keep proof of the cancellation, because disputing one charge does not cancel the service and the charges will keep coming until you end it. Once it is cancelled, any further charge is a valid reason to dispute. Note that cancelling your card or getting a new card number does not reliably stop a recurring charge, because card networks can forward recurring billing to your new number, so always cancel with the merchant.

How much am I liable for if someone uses my credit card without permission in Canada? +

By law your maximum liability for an unauthorized credit card transaction cannot be more than $50.00, unless you demonstrated gross negligence, and your card agreement must state your maximum liability. On top of that, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Interac have public commitments to protect you against loss when your card is used without your permission, so in practice you usually will not be held responsible at all. Report it to your issuer immediately.

How long do I have to dispute a credit card charge in Canada? +

There is no single national deadline. The time to report is set by your card agreement and the card network rules, and it can be tight, so report as soon as you spot the charge. Your issuer usually cannot dispute a transaction while it is still pending, so you may have to wait a few days for it to post, but do not wait once it has. Review every statement when it arrives so nothing slips past the window.

What is a chargeback? +

A chargeback is the process your card issuer uses to reverse a charge and pull the money back from the merchant through the card network, on your behalf. You do not arrange it directly with the merchant. You file a dispute with your issuer, the issuer decides whether it qualifies under the card network rules, and if it does, the charge is reversed. It is a different mechanism from a bank account pre-authorized debit reversal.

What if my card issuer denies the dispute? +

Ask why in writing and request a second review with more evidence, such as your cancellation email, receipts, or screenshots. If it is still not resolved, use the issuer's formal complaint-handling procedure, which every federally regulated institution must have. If that fails or drags on, escalate for free to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada oversees whether banks follow the rules but does not resolve individual complaints or get your money back.

Related guides

Disclosure: Some links on this page are referral links, and Bremo may earn a commission if you open an account, at no cost to you. This does not change what we recommend. The rules and figures on this page were verified on 22 July 2026 against the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada pages "Resolving an unauthorized transaction" and "Credit card fraud", and a Canadian card issuer's published dispute process. The dispute steps, deadlines and chargeback outcomes are set by your card agreement and the Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Interac network rules, which vary by issuer and card, so confirm the exact process and any time limit with your own issuer. This page is educational general information, not legal or financial advice.