How to fight a forgotten free trial chargeback in January

A forgotten free trial chargeback in January is defended with the record of what the customer was told before the first charge. California and New York now set when trial and renewal reminders must go out, so the reminder log, the consent record and the cancel path are what the bank sees.

Why do forgotten trials turn into January disputes?

A trial started in November for a holiday gift or a streaming binge ends in December, and the first full charge lands on a statement the cardholder reads in the first week of January. By then the person has stopped thinking about the product. What the seller can show is the record of what the customer was told before that charge.

Visa lets a cardholder dispute a cancelled recurring charge under reason code 13.2, the code for a subscription the customer says was cancelled, for up to 120 calendar days from the processing date. A December renewal can therefore still be disputed in April. Check now that every trial ending in December or January has its consent and reminder records attached to the customer account; what the issuer expects is on the Visa 13.2 cancelled recurring reason code page.

What does California require?

California's automatic renewal law, as amended by AB 2863, applies to contracts entered, amended or extended on or after 1 July 2025. It requires express affirmative consent to the renewal terms. The seller must keep proof of that consent for at least 3 years, or 1 year after the contract ends if that is longer.

A seller who cannot produce a dated consent record has nothing to put in front of the bank. Under the statute, that seller has a compliance problem as well.

The reminder rules bear most on January:

• a free trial or promotional price longer than 31 days needs a notice 3 to 21 days before it ends;
• an initial term of a year or more needs a notice 15 to 45 days before renewal;
• annual plans also need an annual reminder.

A trial that begins on 15 November and runs 60 days ends on 14 January, so the notice has to go out between 24 December and 11 January. Reminders that depend on someone remembering to send them risk missing that window, and then the first the customer hears of the renewal is the charge. Set those notices to send automatically and log each send date.

California also requires an online-only way to cancel for online sign-ups, by a direct link or button or an immediately accessible email. A customer who could not cancel easily has a better story for the bank. A seller who can show the cancel button, the click path and the timestamped cancellation request is in a stronger position, so test that path yourself.

What does New York require?

New York's General Business Law 527-a sets a similar structure. A renewal reminder goes out 15 to 45 days before the deadline, and a free trial longer than a month needs a notice 3 to 21 days before the first charge. A change of material terms needs notice 5 to 30 days ahead.

The attorney general may seek $100 to $500 per violation. If you sell into New York, compare your reminder schedule against those windows.

Does the FTC click-to-cancel rule still apply?

The 2024 click-to-cancel amendments do not apply, because the Eighth Circuit vacated them on 8 July 2025, according to law firm summaries. The FTC announced an advance notice of new rulemaking on negative option plans on 11 March 2026, and no final rule appears in the sources checked for this article.

The vacatur did not touch the federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act or the state laws. A national seller should build to the stricter state standard.

Takeaway: what to do this week

1. Queue every January reminder. Check that reminder emails for each trial and renewal ending in January are scheduled with their send dates logged, since that log shows the statutory window was met.
2. Test the cancel link. It should work from the account page and from the reminder itself.
3. Make consent records retrievable. Pull one customer's consent record today, because the deadline for a dispute response will not wait for a search.

Sources: California Legislative Information, Business and Professions Code 17602, as amended by AB 2863; New York State Senate, General Business Law 527-A, current revision 7 November 2025; Goodwin, "FTC's click-to-cancel rule gets new life", 13 February 2026; FTC, press release on the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on negative option plans, 11 March 2026; Visa Core Rules, edition 18 April 2026, Table 11-99. All checked 24 October 2026.