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Stripe Billing problem

Why did Stripe charge a customer when their free trial ended?

A customer signs up for a free trial, forgets about it, and is charged on the day it ends. Now they want a refund, or they file a dispute. Stripe trials turn into paid plans on their own unless the setup says otherwise. Here is what Stripe’s docs say, in their words, what to change, or hand it over at a fixed price.

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Short answer

A Stripe trial moves to the regular price automatically when it ends, and a card saved at signup is charged. To stop surprises, turn on the trial ending reminder email, make sure cancelling in your app cancels in Stripe, and for trials that take no card, choose to cancel or pause the subscription at the end instead of invoicing. Refund the payment from the Payments page if the customer didn’t mean to stay.

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Why the customer was charged, and the fix

  1. 01

    The trial turned into a paid plan, as set up

    “When the trial ends, the subscription automatically transitions to the regular price or another price you configure.” Stripe, Trial offers

    Unless the subscription is set to end, the trial rolls into the paid price and Stripe bills the saved card soon after. Say so plainly on the signup page, with the date and the amount.

  2. 02

    No reminder went out before the trial ended

    “turn on Send a reminder email 7 days before a free trial ends to send a trial ending reminder.” Stripe, Customer emails

    Stripe can email the customer before the trial ends, but the setting has to be on. Turn it on in the Dashboard under the subscription email settings.

  3. 03

    They cancelled in the app, but not in Stripe

    If cancelling the trial in your app only changes your own database, the subscription keeps going in Stripe and bills when the trial ends. Simon checks that the cancel button cancels the subscription in Stripe and that its status changes there.

  4. 04

    A trial without a card still created an invoice

    “Set missing_payment_method=cancel to cancel the subscription when it reaches the end of a trial without an available payment method.” Stripe, Use trial periods on subscriptions

    Trials can start without a payment method. What happens at the end depends on a setting: by default Stripe creates an invoice, which goes past due if it can’t be paid. If a trial without a card should simply end, set it to cancel or pause instead.

Checked against the vendor’s docs on : Stripe docs: Trial offers; Stripe docs: Use trial periods on subscriptions; Stripe docs: Customer emails; Stripe docs: Refunds.

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Related: Stripe customer charged after cancelling · Stripe customer charged twice · Stripe dispute or chargeback · Stripe customers not getting receipts

Questions

More on this error

How do I refund the customer?

Find the payment on the Payments page, click the overflow menu next to it and select Refund payment. Stripe issues a full refund by default, and you can enter a smaller amount for a partial refund. Stripe’s processing fees from the original payment aren’t returned.

When does Stripe send the trial reminder?

Stripe-hosted reminder emails go out 7 days before the trial ends. Separately, the trial ending event your app can listen for defaults to 3 days before the trial ends.

Can a trial start without asking for a card?

Yes. Stripe says you don’t need to add a payment method when creating a subscription with a trial period. Choose what happens at the end: create an invoice, cancel, or pause until the customer adds one.

Can you fix it for me?

If one bug is the whole problem, the App Fix Ticket covers it: a written diagnosis first, then the fix. If the app has more going on, the Launch Check is a written check of the whole app. Each issue found is rated critical, high, medium or low, with where it is and how it was confirmed. No issues worth fixing, no charge. If the Launch Check finds nothing rated medium or higher, Simon refunds the full $450. You keep the report either way. This applies to the first 10 Launch Checks bought after October 30, 2026.

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