Charged after subscription cancellation? 5 steps to get a refund

Service page: Consumer claims and class actions lawyer. Is the charge taken by standing order from your bank account? See also canceling the debit authorization at the bank.

Charged after canceling? This is exactly what you are entitled to

If you gave a cancellation notice in a continuing transaction and the charges continued anyway, the law gives you three things at the same time: an end to the charges, a refund of what was collected for the period after the cancellation date, and the option of claiming exemplary damages that do not depend on damage. The basis: section 13D(c) of the Consumer Protection Law, 5741-1981 provides that a contract in a continuing transaction ends within three business days from when a cancellation notice under section 14I was given (six business days by registered mail), and that on the cancellation date the business must stop the service and not charge for services provided after it. A charge for the period after that date is an unlawful charge.

The next chapter is compensation. Section 31A(a)(2b) names the case expressly: a consumer asked to cancel a continuing transaction by a cancellation notice under section 14I, and the business kept charging them contrary to section 13D(c). In such a case the court may award exemplary damages in an amount not exceeding NIS 10,000. Below, step by step, is how to get there.

Step 1 — Mapping: what is the cancellation date that counts, and what was collected after it

Before contacting anyone, build a simple table with three columns: date, amount and source of the charge. Add to it the date the cancellation notice was given and the evidence of it: a sent email, a screenshot of a request number, a registered mail delivery confirmation.

The cancellation date that counts is calculated from when the notice was given: at the latest three business days after it (by registered mail: six business days from the day the letter was handed in for sending), unless you named a later date in the notice. A charge for the period after that date goes on the refund list; a charge collected after that date for a period before it (for example the last bill) may be lawful. You can calculate the date with the “Did the cancellation take effect?” tool at the top of the page. Note also a separate, faster route: section 13D1 of the Law deals with collecting an excess amount in a continuing transaction charged under a debit authorization. If a consumer claims that an excess amount was collected from them, the business must look into the claim within ten business days; if it finds that it overcharged, it must refund within four business days, with interest and with a payment for the consumer’s expenses; and it must send a reasoned written reply within 21 business days from the day of the request. Failure to refund in this way is also grounds for exemplary damages, under section 31A(a)(2b1).

Step 2 — The written demand (section 31A(b))

Section 31A(b) sets a rule that many people fail on: a claim for exemplary damages may not be filed against a business until the consumer has sent or delivered a request in writing, including by electronic communication. For the breach in paragraph (2b), continued charging after cancellation, the section makes it easier: it is enough that the consumer gave a cancellation notice under section 14I(a), except under paragraph (1) of it, that is, except a cancellation made orally only.

Two rules of thumb follow. First, someone who canceled only in a phone call should send a written demand now, and only then sue. Second, even someone who canceled in writing would do well to send a proper demand: it focuses the dispute, records the business’s refusal, and in many cases ends the matter without going to court.

An effective demand letter includes: the date the cancellation notice was given and the channel through which it was given; details of the charges collected after the cancellation date; a demand to refund them; a demand to stop the charges and cancel the authorization; a reference to sections 13D(c) and 31A(a)(2b) of the Law; and a reasonable deadline for a reply. The text of the cancellation notice itself is in the article Subscription cancellation: a full checklist and a cancellation notice template.

Step 3 — Exemplary damages: the cap, and the cases in which it rises

Section 31A(a) empowers the court to award compensation that does not depend on damage, in an amount not exceeding NIS 10,000, for one of the breaches listed in it. The breach relevant here is paragraph (2b): continued charging after a cancellation notice in a continuing transaction, contrary to section 13D(c).

Section 31A(c)(1) raises the cap: the court may award an amount above NIS 10,000 but not exceeding NIS 50,000, if it finds that the breach is a repeated breach or a continuing breach, or was committed in aggravating circumstances as defined in section 23A(b). Section 31A(c)(2) defines: a “repeated breach” is a breach within two years of a previous breach of a section listed in the same paragraph for which the business was convicted under section 23; a “continuing breach” is a breach after a notice under section 21(4) was given or an order under section 30 was issued, or after the period set in the notice or the order ended, whichever is later.

And finally, section 31A(f) makes clear that exemplary damages do not detract from the consumer’s right to compensation under section 31 of the Law or to any other remedy. In other words, the refund and the exemplary damages are cumulative.

How the court sets the amount (section 31A(e))

The section lists the considerations, and states expressly that the court will not take into account the amount of the damage caused to the consumer. The considerations that are weighed:

• enforcing the law and deterring breaches of it;
• encouraging the consumer to exercise their rights;
• the severity of the breach, its financial scope and its circumstances;
• the monetary value of the transaction in connection with which the breach was committed;
• the financial scope of the business’s activity;
• the amount of the fine set for that breach under sections 23 or 23A, if such a fine is set.

The practical conclusion: what raises the compensation is not the amount charged to you, but how serious the conduct was and how long it lasted: how many months the charges went on, how many requests were needed, and whether the business continued even after an express demand. All of this comes out of your records. In addition, section 31A(d) allows the court to take into account that the business was convicted of an offense under section 23 for the same act.

Step 4 — A complaint to the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority

Alongside the civil proceeding, and sometimes before it, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority through the online complaint form on gov.il. The Authority does not award you compensation, as it is an administrative enforcement body, but the complaint serves two purposes: it puts immediate pressure on the business, and it creates an outside record of the breach that can be used later. Attach to the complaint the cancellation notice, the evidence that it was given and the statement of charges.

Step 5 — A small claim or a class action?

A small claim is suitable when the damage is personal and the amounts are not high: a refund of the charges plus exemplary damages usually fits within the small claims cap (NIS 39,900 as of January 2026; section 60(a)(1) of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984). The proceeding is relatively fast and the court fee is low. Representation at the hearing by a lawyer is allowed only with the court’s permission and for special reasons (section 63(a) of the same Law), but you can get a lawyer’s help in drafting the statement of claim and collecting the evidence. The filing details are on the Judicial Authority’s filing service.

A class action is suitable when it is a system: when the same pattern of charging after cancellation repeats with many customers. Item 1 of the Second Schedule to the Class Actions Law, 5766-2006 allows an application to certify a class action in “a claim against a dealer, as defined in the Consumer Protection Law, in connection with a matter between it and a customer, whether or not they entered into a transaction”. Filing a class action requires the court’s approval (section 3(b) of the Law). In such a proceeding legal representation is necessary, and the refund of the charges is claimed in it, but exemplary damages are not awarded in a class action (section 20(e) of the Law). More: consumer class actions and the office’s class actions and consumer claims practice area, and the page Subscription cancellation and charges after cancellation.

Mistakes that weaken the refund demand

• Canceling by phone without a request number. Without documentation, it is hard to prove the cancellation date.
• Blocking the credit card instead of canceling. Blocking the card alone is not a cancellation notice under section 14I(a), so it does not end the transaction under section 13D(c).
• Deleting the app. Deleting the app alone is not a cancellation notice under section 14I(a), so it does not end the transaction under section 13D(c).
• Waiting for months. The more time passes, the harder it is to reconstruct charges and correspondence.
• Accepting a “partial credit” without checking all the months. First add up how much was charged in total.

Frequently asked questions

How much compensation am I entitled to for a charge after a subscription cancellation? Beyond the refund of what was collected for the period after the cancellation date, the court may award exemplary damages of up to NIS 10,000, without proof of damage, under section 31A(a)(2b) of the Consumer Protection Law. For a repeated breach, a continuing breach or in aggravating circumstances as defined in section 23A(b), the cap rises to up to NIS 50,000 (section 31A(c)). The actual amount is set by the considerations in section 31A(e), and expressly not by the amount of the damage.

Do you have to send a demand letter before suing? For a claim for exemplary damages, yes, as a rule. Section 31A(b) provides that a claim for exemplary damages may not be filed until the consumer has sent or delivered a request in writing, including by electronic communication. For continued charging after cancellation (paragraph (2b)), it is enough that a cancellation notice under section 14I(a) was given, except an oral cancellation. Someone who canceled only by phone must send a written demand before the claim.

From exactly what date are the charges that must be refunded counted? From the cancellation date under section 13D(c): three business days from when the cancellation notice was given, or six business days if it was sent by registered mail, unless you named a later date in the notice. On that date the business must stop the service, and it may not charge for services provided after it.

Is there a case in which the business is exempt even though it kept charging? There is a narrow exception. Section 13D(d) provides that if the business kept charging because of circumstances that it did not know about and should not have known about, or did not foresee and should not have foreseen, and cancellation of the transaction was impossible because of those circumstances, section 13D(c) and section 31A(a)(2b) do not apply as long as those circumstances continue. This is an exception for unusual outside circumstances, not a defense against an ordinary operational fault.

Does a complaint to the Consumer Protection Authority get me my money back? Not directly. The Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority is an administrative enforcement body and does not award compensation to the consumer. The complaint puts pressure on the business and creates an outside record of the breach. The refund and the compensation are claimed in court: in a small claim, and in cases of a widespread breach, in a class action.

When is it a class action and not a small claim? When the breach is a pattern that repeats with many customers and not a one-off fault. Item 1 of the Second Schedule to the Class Actions Law allows an application to certify a class action in a claim against a dealer as defined in the Consumer Protection Law, in connection with a matter between it and a customer. Filing requires the court’s approval, and the proceeding requires legal representation; exemplary damages are not awarded in it (section 20(e) of the Class Actions Law). For personal damage of a small amount, a small claim is faster and cheaper.

Does the Consumer Protection Authority really enforce the ban on continuing to charge? Yes, and with real amounts. In the register of monetary sanctions of the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority, as checked on 17 October 2026, a monetary sanction of NIS 1,395,918 is recorded against HOT Telecommunication Systems Ltd. in proceeding 05-28-22, for breach of section 3(b)(8), section 13D(c) and section 14I(a) of the Consumer Protection Law. In the same register, and in the same check of 17 October 2026, a sanction of NIS 1,155,291 is recorded against HOT Mobile Ltd. in proceeding 17-23, and a sanction of NIS 232,174 against Sherut Ehad Home Electrical Appliances Ltd. in proceeding 5-23, in which the appeal was dismissed and the sanction stands. For the first two records, the appeal column in the register is empty. The sanction does not go to the consumer (it is collected for the State Treasury), but it is an outside finding by a competent authority that the breach happened, and that carries weight in a civil proceeding.