How to stop auto-deduction after a free trial ends

The offer said seven days free. On day eight, ₹599 quietly left your account. Nothing malfunctioned — when you started that free trial you approved a UPI AutoPay mandate with your UPI PIN, and the auto-deduction did exactly what you permitted.

Why a free trial can still debit you

A free trial signup usually creates a UPI 2.0 e-mandate. You approved once with your UPI PIN, and after that the merchant can pull money on schedule without asking again. Deleting the app changes nothing — the mandate sits with your bank account, not the app icon.

The mandate keeps running until its end date — it does not stop early just because you stopped using the service.

Cancel it before the first debit

1. Open any UPI app linked to that bank account.
2. Go to the mandate list. PhonePe: profile icon → Manage AutoPay. Google Pay: profile picture → Autopay. Paytm: profile icon → UPI Automatic Payments → Manage. BHIM: Mandate → My Mandates.
3. Find the merchant and check the next debit date.
4. Tap Cancel AutoPay / Turn off / Revoke and confirm.
5. Save the confirmation message.
6. Separately, cancel the subscription inside the merchant's own app or website.

The pre-debit notification is your final warning before the money is pulled. Do not wait for it — cancel a couple of days before the trial ends.

If the money has already gone

1. Open the SMS and note the merchant name and the e-mandate reference number.
2. Report the transaction inside the UPI app: Help → Report an issue on that transaction.
3. Not resolved in three days? Complain to your bank, which must resolve within a set turnaround.
4. Still stuck after 30 days? Escalate to the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in.

A refund is possible where the debit was unauthorised or the mandate was already revoked — not simply because you forgot.

One important note

Cancelling the mandate stops the debit but not the service, so do both or the merchant may still count you as a paying customer. It has no impact on your CIBIL score, except loan EMI mandates, where a missed EMI does hurt.

FAQ

Can I just remove money from the account instead? Bad idea — the mandate stays live and can retry later.

Can I cap the amount instead of cancelling? For variable-amount mandates, yes: the ceiling you set cannot be exceeded by the merchant.

Conclusion

A free trial ends the day you cancel the mandate, not the day the trial expires. Do it early, keep the confirmation, and the ₹599 stays with you.