Amex C28 chargeback (cancelled recurring billing): what evidence wins
By Zevron · 2 min read · Updated
What a C28 dispute claims
C28 is American Express’s cancelled-recurring-billing dispute, the counterpart to Visa 13.2 and Mastercard 4841. The cardholder says they told you to stop and you charged them anyway.
Because the claim is “I cancelled”, the heart of the case is whether a cancellation ever reached you. That means your records have to cover every place a customer could have tried.
You get one submission on Shopify Payments and Stripe. Gather everything first and submit before the due date shown in the dispute.
Proving nothing arrived
A bank can’t see inside your inbox. To show no cancellation reached you, your response should cover each channel a customer could use:
- The account or subscription page: the subscription’s status history, with no cancel action before the charge.
- Email: a search of support and billing inboxes for the customer’s address before the charge date.
- Chat and social: conversation history for the customer.
- Phone: call notes if you take cancellations by phone.
- The subscription app: the cancellation log from the platform that runs the renewals.
State the date range you checked and attach what you found, including that you found nothing.
The evidence that wins
| Evidence | Why it matters | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription record and terms | Proves the recurring arrangement, price and schedule. | Yes |
| Pre-renewal reminder email | Shows the customer was told the charge was coming and how to cancel. | Yes |
| Cancellation request log | Shows no cancellation reached you before the charge. | Yes |
| Checkout consent record | Terms version, timestamp and the checkbox or button used. | No, strongly helps |
| Delivery or usage after the renewal | Shows the customer received or used the renewal. | No, strongly helps |
The order to argue it in
- The cardholder agreed to recurring terms at checkout (terms version, timestamp, checkbox).
- A pre-renewal reminder was sent before the disputed charge, with a link to manage or cancel.
- No cancellation request was received before the renewal date.
- The renewal order was shipped and delivered, or the account was used after renewal.
Mistakes that lose winnable C28 cases
- Checking only one channel. If the customer emailed support and you only checked the subscription app, the bank may side with them.
- No reminder before the charge, or one sent afterwards.
- General terms instead of this customer’s acceptance of them.
- Contesting a case where the customer did cancel. Refund it and fix the cancellation flow.
The same dispute on other card networks
| Network | Code | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | 13.2 | Cancelled recurring transaction |
| Mastercard | 4841 | Cancelled recurring or digital goods |
| Amex | C28 | Cancelled recurring billing |
Questions
What is Amex reason code C28?
Cancelled recurring billing. The cardholder says they cancelled and were charged anyway.
How do I prove a customer didn’t cancel?
Show no cancellation request in any channel before the charge: the subscription app’s log, support email, chat and phone notes, with the date range you checked.
Is the evidence different from Visa 13.2?
No. The same consent, reminder and cancellation-log records answer it.