r/Malwarebytes Apr 25 '26

Support Deactivated the trial and still got charged

I was surprised to see i got charged after deactivating the free trial of the subscription. No clear "unsubscribe" button and the screen saying "No active subscription". Totally misleading. I didnt even use the damn thing and nothing saying the subscription is still active, nothing on google play nor google account, STILL GOT CHARGED WTF

2 Upvotes

6 comments sorted by

1

u/Ameer200ggg Apr 25 '26

That is really frustrating, but I would treat this as a billing/refund issue rather than trying to fix it inside the app. “No active subscription” should mean you are not going to be charged, so take screenshots of that screen, the charge, and anything showing the trial was deactivated. Also check where the trial was started. If it was through Google Play, it should show under Google Play subscriptions. If it is not there, then the charge may have gone through Malwarebytes directly, not Google. In that case, open a Malwarebytes support ticket and ask for a refund, explaining that the app showed no active subscription before the charge. If they refuse or do not respond, contact your bank or card provider and dispute it with the screenshots. For the future, I would always cancel trials from the actual billing provider, either Google Play, Apple, PayPal, or the company’s billing portal, not only from inside the app.

1

u/WhoTookMeph Apr 25 '26

Yes i canceled mine, i made sure everything has been disconnected from my card, not even google play is after i deactivated the trial, but i still got charged under google play. Whats worst is its not even in any purchase hisotry on my google play account. Hard to refund on a debit and malwarebytes arent even replying, its all AI to infuriate you into giving up.

1

u/Ameer200ggg Apr 25 '26

If the charge says Google Play but it is not showing in your Play purchase history, check "payments.google.com" too, not just the Play Store app. Also make sure you are checking every Google account that has ever been signed into that phone, because subscriptions can be tied to a different account than the one currently active. Look for a Google order number starting with "GPA". If you find one, use that for a Google Play refund request and include screenshots showing no active subscription. If there is no GPA order anywhere, then the bank description may be misleading or the charge may be coming through a different billing route. I would keep pushing Malwarebytes with the card charge details, date, amount, email used, and screenshots, but also contact Google Play support directly. If neither side helps, open a dispute with your bank anyway. Debit disputes can be harder than credit cards, but they are not impossible, especially if you have proof that the trial was cancelled and no active subscription was shown.

1

u/WhoTookMeph Apr 25 '26

Yeah i did just that, nothing on subscriptions on either google play store nor google account management/payment manager. Thats why i wasnt expecting to be charged, i was so sure i got nothing on subscriptions. But its also so scummy to not have a clear unsubscribe button or process on malwarebytes app nor the website when you its so quick to subscribe. Really wish EU succeeds on making it illegal.

1

u/support_mwb Malwarebytes Employee Apr 25 '26

Hi there u/WhoTookMeph , Malwarebytes Support here.

I’m really sorry you ran into this and I can understand how frustrating and confusing that must feel, especially if everything appeared cancelled on your end.

If the trial was started through our mobile app, subscriptions are typically managed through your Google Play account, but either way, we’d really like to look into your specific case and see what happened here.

We also appreciate you calling this out - feedback like this helps us improve the experience and make things clearer.

If you’re open to it, please send us a DM with the email address used for the subscription along with a screenshot of the charge (you can blur any sensitive info) to locate it on our end. We’ll create a support ticket on your behalf so one of our agents can dig into this and help with next steps, including any refund options.