Chargeback reason: Subscription canceled

Shopify's help says a chargeback is marked Subscription canceled if the customer believes you charged them after the subscription should have been canceled, or if they expected a reminder before each recurring charge and did not get one.

Source: Shopify Help, read 4 October 2026: Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry and Responding to chargebacks and inquiries.

Despite full evidence and proof that these customers do not have a canceled subscription and received the product, we are losing.

Whether the customer canceled before the charge, and whether they were told how cancellation and billing work.

• Get in touch with the customer. You may be able to clear up a misunderstanding or reach an agreement. If you do, they should ask their bank to drop the chargeback, and you should send evidence of that conversation.
• If you charged the customer after they canceled, Shopify's help says you have to accept the chargeback.

Shopify's help lists these for this reason. Send what you actually have.

• Your subscription cancellation policy
• Any emails or notifications sent to the customer about their cancellation
• An explanation of when and where the customer was informed of the cancellation policy
• For a digital product or service: an activity log proving the customer accessed it after the date they said they canceled

Also listed in Shopify's responding article

• The subscription agreement: terms the customer accepted, including billing cycle and auto-renewal
• Your cancellation policy
• Cancellation records. If no cancellation request exists in your system, provide evidence of that
• Usage logs showing the customer kept using the service after the disputed charge date
• Billing notifications: renewal reminders or payment receipts sent before the charge
• If the customer followed your cancellation process and was still charged, Shopify's help says to consider issuing a refund

Our additions

• If the customer has more than one subscription or order with you, name the exact one that was charged, with dates, so the response cannot be mistaken for another one.

Plain text, because bank systems often strip formatting. Replace every [bracket] with a fact from your records, and delete any line you cannot back with a file.

Dispute response: order [order number], [amount and currency], reason: Subscription canceled

Summary
The cardholder subscribed to [product or plan] on [date]. The charge in dispute was taken on [date] under that subscription. [One sentence on the key fact, for example: our records show no cancellation before this charge.] We ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

Subscription terms
- Plan, price and billing interval agreed at sign-up: [details] (Exhibit 1)
- Cancellation policy and where the customer saw it: [page or step at checkout, with quote] (Exhibit 2)

Cancellation status
- Cancellation request received: [date and channel, or: none received before [charge date]] (Exhibit 3)
- Emails or notifications sent about renewals or cancellation: [dates] (Exhibit 4)

Use after the stated cancellation date (digital products only; delete if not relevant)
- Activity log showing access on [dates] (Exhibit 5)

Exhibits
1. Subscription sign-up record
2. Cancellation policy and checkout screenshot
3. Cancellation record or support log
4. Notification emails
5. Access log

Never state anything you cannot prove. Every sentence in the response should point to a file you can attach. Delete any line you have no file for.

Where

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click the order that is being disputed.
2. In the chargeback banner, click Add evidence.
3. On the Chargeback response page, review the information about the chargeback, enter any additional information, and upload your items of evidence.
4. Click Save to save your progress. You can come back and edit until the due date.
5. To send it early: on the Chargeback response page click Submit now, then click Submit in the confirmation dialog. If you do not submit early, Shopify sends the evidence on the due date.

When

• The due date is 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed. It shows in your store's timezone, and if no time is shown the deadline is 11:59 PM on that date.
• Shopify automatically collects evidence and sends it to the credit card company on the due date. Adding your own evidence can improve your chances.
• You can edit your evidence at any time before the due date. After you click Submit now you cannot edit it.
• After the due date you cannot submit further evidence. Shopify's help says there are no exceptions.
• The credit card company's review can take up to 75 days after you submit. After the bank or card company rules, Shopify's help says there is no appeal and the decision is final.
• You can also accept a chargeback without submitting evidence, with Accept chargeback in the chargeback banner.

Shopify's help says some details depend on the card-issuing bank and the card network, and that disputes from third-party payment providers such as PayPal Express Checkout may follow different processes and timelines. Use the due date shown on your own chargeback in the admin, not a number from any article.

File rules for your evidence

• Only PDF, JPEG or PNG files. PDFs must be PDF/A compliant, must not be PDF Portfolios, and must have fewer than 50 pages.
• Each file must not exceed 2 MB, and all your evidence files together must not exceed 4 MB.
• Submit only one file for each type of evidence. Combine several files into one image or PDF.
• Do not include audio or video files, links to external resources, or requests to call or email for more information.

Source: Shopify Help, read 4 October 2026. Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin: "The due date varies from 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed." and "After the submission deadline has passed, you can't submit any further evidence. There are no exceptions to this". Responding to chargebacks and inquiries: "Credit card company reviews: This can take up to 75 days after you submit."

• Not saying which subscription the charge belongs to when the customer has more than one.
• Attaching a cancellation policy without showing where the customer saw it.
• Stating that no cancellation request was received without checking every channel (email, support tool, the app).
• Fighting a charge made after a real cancellation. Shopify's reasons article says you have to accept the chargeback in that case.

Reminder emails before each renewal, a visible way to cancel, and a cancellation confirmation message that you can attach later.

What if the customer did cancel but I charged them anyway?

Shopify's help says that if you charged the customer after they canceled, you have to accept the chargeback.

What do I send if I think they never canceled?

Per Shopify's help: your cancellation policy, notifications sent about cancellation, an explanation of when and where the customer was told about the policy, and for digital products an activity log showing access after the date they say they canceled.

The customer has two subscriptions. Does that matter?

Yes. In a real forum case the merchant had two subscriptions for one customer. Name the exact subscription that was charged, with dates.

I sent full evidence and still lost. Why?

A forum merchant reported losing subscription disputes despite what they thought was full proof. Check the evidence is built around the reason and shows where the customer saw the cancellation terms, not just the order.

• Fraudulent or unrecognized: The cardholder says they did not authorize the charge, or do not recognize your store name on their statement.
• Product not received: The customer told their bank they did not receive what they bought.
• Product unacceptable or not as described: The customer says what arrived was defective, damaged or not as you described it.
• Duplicate: The customer thinks you charged them twice for the same product or service.
• Credit not processed: The customer says they returned the product or canceled the order and never got their money back.

Send the dispute reason, the amount, the due date and the evidence you hold, with no card or customer data. We read what you send and reply with what looks strong, what is missing and whether accepting may cost less. Free, no call, no sign-up. We cannot promise a day, and nobody can promise how the bank will decide.

The email opens with the subject filled in, to kaiventura.founder@gmail.com. The GitHub form needs a free GitHub account.

Kai Ventura, Pro Skill Packs

The kit has six fill-in response letters for Word or Google Docs (one per reason), evidence checklists, worked examples and a Start-here PDF, plus the skill and a paste-in prompt. The skill takes your dispute details and the evidence you hold, and writes a response matched to the reason, a checklist of files to attach and a list of gaps. It never invents evidence and tells you when accepting may cost less.

Before: a merchant sent delivery photos against a fraud dispute and lost.
After: a verdict (weak, fight only if cheap), what the bank actually asks, and what to gather instead.

Free first: the Chargeback Evidence Checklist skill, or its paste-in prompt for ChatGPT.

It is also one of the six skills in the Store Ops Pack, $29.

This page is general information from Shopify's public help and our own checklists. It is not legal advice, and no response can promise how a bank will decide. Pro Skill Packs is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify Inc. All chargeback reasons.