The Subscription I Marked "Canceled" Was Still Billing Me Six Months Later

Good morning, it’s まさきん.

Reviewing your fixed costs gives you a real sense of accomplishment once you do it. But that record of “done” turned out to be an unexpected trap. This is the story of a subscription I thought I had canceled that kept on billing me.

*This information is current as of publication. Please check the official websites for the latest details.

My review sheet said “canceled”

This spring, in April, I made a sheet to review our household’s fixed costs. In it, I wrote that a VR fitness subscription was “canceled, nothing from March on.” Another sheet said “confirmed stopped,” so it was recorded as settled twice over.

But the other day, I went back through six months of card statements. I found a 1,290 yen charge every month from the same service. June, July and August, every month. The amount was exactly the same all three times.

I thought I had canceled it, but it was actually still running. Since it was an item marked as done on my sheet, I was honestly a little shocked.

I did have a note that got the facts right

What also surprised me was that a separate inventory note correctly said “ongoing.”

So I did have a note recording the facts. What I did not have was a system to compare it with the review sheet. I had written both myself, yet I never looked at them side by side.

At work too, having two sources for the same numbers leads to mismatches. Maybe the same thing was happening in our household finances.

What I thought mattered more than the money

In terms of money alone, it is 15,480 yen a year if I do not need it. That may not be a big amount compared with the whole household budget.

But I think the real issue is that “a measure I recorded as done was not actually working.” If it happened even once, the other items marked done on the same sheet become suspect too. So I decided to use this one case as the starting point for a check.

Your review sheet is the foundation for your next review. Whether the “done” items in that foundation are really done can change the decisions that follow, I think.

Why “I thought I canceled it” happens

I have not yet pinned down the cause in my case. With that in mind, I sorted out the reasons that are generally possible.

Canceling in the wrong place

Where you cancel a subscription depends on where you signed up. For example, if you signed up inside an app, you cancel from the app store’s management screen. If you signed up on the web, you cancel from the service’s account page.

Services that involve a device, an app and an account, like VR headsets, tend to have multiple payment channels. Even if you cancel through one, a contract through another channel may remain.

Just deleting the app

Google Play’s help page states clearly that “uninstalling the app will not cancel your subscription.” d Barai’s help page (d Barai is docomo’s payment service) had a similar warning.

The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan also warns that “just deleting the app does not cancel it.” Its guidance is that you need to cancel using the method set by the provider.

The process stopped partway

After you press the cancel button, there may be confirmation screens or surveys. If you close the screen partway through, the cancellation might not be complete.

Apple’s help page says that if there is no cancel button, the subscription is already canceled. The same applies if an expiry notice appears in red. It is reassuring to know which on-screen message is the sign that it is “canceled.”

A free trial automatically turned paid

According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, free trials often switch automatically to a paid subscription after the trial period. Apple’s help page also advises canceling at least 24 hours before the trial ends.

The contract is under a different account

Apple’s help page has steps for when you cannot find the subscription you want to cancel. You search for the receipt email and check which account you are paying with. Google Play also says that if you cannot find it, it may be under a different account.

Where to cancel for each billing channel

Based on what I could confirm in official help pages, here is where to cancel for each billing channel. This time, I am also starting over by checking “which channel am I paying through.”

Device makers’ stores have different screens for each maker. So in the table I only gave the general direction for checking. Please check the actual steps in that maker’s official help.

Carrier billing (paying through your phone bill) is a bit special. d Barai’s help page says recurring charges are canceled with the merchant. It seems you check the merchant’s contact details from the recurring charges list. There was also a note that even if you cancel mid-month, you are charged for the full month.

Even after canceling, you can use it until the end of the period

Google Play’s help page explains that even after canceling, you can use the subscription for the period you already paid for. For example, say you paid an annual fee on January 1 and canceled on July 1. In that case, you can use it until December 31, and you will not be charged for the next year.

This system is kind, but it also makes checking harder. Because you can keep using it for a while after canceling, it is hard to see whether it has “really stopped.”

Personally, I feel this is why you should not treat the day you did the paperwork as the “done” date. You probably cannot tell whether it has stopped until the next billing date has passed.

Tips for finding subscriptions on your card statement

The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan recommends checking your card and carrier billing statements every month. But some subscriptions are hard to spot on a statement.

The billing name differs from the service name

According to an explainer article from Rakuten Card, statements sometimes show the operating company’s name or a store name you do not recognize. If you paid through an app store, it may show the store’s name. Even if you search for the service name and find nothing, you cannot relax just yet.

Overseas providers appear as “overseas use”

The same article says services run by overseas companies may appear as “overseas use.” It seems wise to be suspicious of small charges with unfamiliar names at least once.

Small, identical amounts every month

Small charges are easy to skim past when you glance at a statement. I did not notice my 1,290 yen either until I went back six months. If you see “the same amount every month,” there is a good chance it is a subscription.

With Rakuten Card, get 15 months as a CSV

With Rakuten Card, you can reportedly view statements for the past 15 months on Rakuten e-NAVI (Rakuten Card’s online member site) or the app. It seems statements can also be downloaded as PDF or CSV.

I think the easiest way is to download about six months as a CSV and lay it out in a spreadsheet. If you sort by amount, identical charges line up and are easier to spot.

Next step: checking the subscriptions page

What I am about to do is check the subscriptions page in my account. I will look at these four things.

1. Plan name (which plan I am subscribed to)
2. Monthly fee (does it match the 1,290 yen on my statement)
3. Next billing date (when the next charge will come)
4. Whether to keep it (whether I will use it going forward)

I do not have the results yet. So in this article, I will not say whether I managed to cancel it. Once I know the next billing date, I can schedule a statement check for that day.

Three rules to stop this from happening again

Prompted by this, I set some rules for myself.

I feel the first one is especially important. The idea is that the completion date is not the day you did the paperwork, but the day you confirmed the charges stopped.

The second is the concrete action for carrying out the first. The third is a system for noticing when records disagree with each other, like this time.

Review sheet template

To make these rules work, I changed the columns on my review sheet. The key is splitting “status” into two stages.

You can only mark something “confirmed stopped” once the statement check date is filled in. On my old sheet, I had been writing this at the time of cancellation.

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Putting together this case and the cautions I saw in official information, here is what I found.

• Recording it as “done” on the day you did the paperwork
• Thinking you canceled because you deleted the app
• Trying to cancel somewhere other than where you signed up
• Not knowing when the free trial ends
• Forgetting a contract made under a family member’s or a different account
• Having two records but no chance to compare them

At least the first and the last applied to me. If even one of these sounds familiar, it may be worth doing a check.

What to check before you start

• Listed the items marked "done" on your review sheet
• Wrote down the billing channel for each (app store, web, carrier billing, etc.)
• Made at least 3 months of card statements available to look back through
• Kept in mind that the name on the statement may differ from the service name
• Checked for contracts under family members or other accounts

How often should you check?

As the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan advises, I think checking your statement every month is the basic rule. That said, going through every item in detail every month is a lot of work.

In our household, we settled on two things: a monthly comparison, and checking the billing date after a cancellation. The monthly check is just laying the sheet and statement side by side, without digging deep. Only canceled items get a pinpoint check on their billing date.

The fixed-cost review itself may only need to be done once or twice a year. I picture the monthly check as bridging the gap in between.

FAQ

Q. Does deleting the app cancel the subscription?

No. Google Play’s help page clearly states that uninstalling does not cancel a subscription. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan has issued the same warning.

Q. Will I lose access as soon as I cancel?

With Google Play, you can reportedly keep using it for the period you already paid for. For other channels, please check each service’s guidance.

Q. I cannot find the subscription I want to cancel in the list.

It may be under a different account or through a different channel. Apple’s help page gives steps for checking which account it is through the receipt email. If you have no receipt from Apple, it says you may have bought it from another company.

Q. What should I watch for if I only want the free trial?

When the free period ends, it often switches automatically to paid. Apple advises canceling at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Writing down the end date on the day you sign up might give you peace of mind.

Q. Where do I cancel a subscription paid through carrier billing?

With d Barai, cancellation is said to be done with the merchant. You find the merchant in the recurring charges list. For other carriers, please check each company’s guidance.

Q. There is a charge with a name I do not recognize on my statement.

It may be listed under the operating company’s name or a store name. A good first step is to see since when the same amount has been charged. If you still cannot tell, contacting your card company is the surest way.

Q. Is there somewhere to go for help?

The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan recommends consulting a consumer affairs center or similar office when you are in trouble. Calling the consumer hotline “188” apparently connects you to a nearby office.

Official sources I referred to

• Cancel a subscription from Apple (Apple Support)
• Cancel, pause or change a subscription on Google Play (Google Play Help)
• How to cancel d Barai recurring charges (d Barai Help)
• Subscriptions: deleting the app alone does not cancel it! (National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan)
• Watch out for unexpected subscription billing trouble! (National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan)
• How to read your Rakuten Card statement (Rakuten Card money column)

Summary

In terms of money alone, it is 15,480 yen a year. But I think the real issue is that “a measure I recorded as done was not actually working.” The other items marked done on the same sheet may have the same gap.

I wrote about how to approach a review in how to get started reviewing your fixed costs, and about spotting overlaps in my article on finding duplicate subscriptions. For making statements easier to search, my article on consolidating to one main card may also help.

If you have reviewed your fixed costs before, why not take another look, starting with the items you marked “done”?

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