How to cancel an IQ test subscription and get your money back

To cancel an IQ test subscription and get your money back, do four things in this order: cancel the renewal with the seller and keep proof, ask the seller for a refund in writing, dispute the charges with your card issuer if the seller refuses or doesn’t answer, and tell your bank to block future charges. Deadlines start when the charge appears on your statement, so start the same day you notice it.

Step 1: cancel the renewal and keep proof

Find the cancel option in the account the test created, in its help center, or in the welcome email. If you paid through an app store, cancel there instead: on an iPhone in Settings, under your name, then Subscriptions; on Android in the Google Play Store, under Payments and subscriptions.

Keep proof that you cancelled: a screenshot of the confirmation screen, the confirmation email, or your own email asking to cancel, with the date. A card dispute for a charge after cancellation asks for the date you cancelled, and this is how you show it.

If you can’t find a way to cancel, email the seller and say you are cancelling: “Please cancel my subscription for [your email] today, [date], and confirm in writing.” That email is your proof.

Step 2: ask for a refund in writing

The Federal Trade Commission’s advice is to try the seller first, then go to your card issuer. A short email works better than a contact form, because you keep a copy. You can copy this one:

Subject: Refund request for unauthorized recurring charges

I took your IQ test on [date] and paid [amount] to see my result. I did not knowingly agree to a recurring subscription. On [date] I was charged [amount], and I cancelled on [date]. Please refund the recurring charges of [total] to the card I used, and confirm that no further charges will be made. If I don’t hear from you within 7 days, I will dispute the charges with my card issuer.

Email used: [email]. Last four digits of the card: [1234].

Give the seller a few days, not weeks. Your dispute deadline keeps running while you wait.

Step 3: dispute the charge with your card issuer

If the seller refuses, offers a partial refund you don’t accept, or doesn’t reply, contact the bank or card company that issued your card. Use the dispute or “report a problem with a charge” option in its app, or call the number on the back of the card.

Card type	Rule	Deadline
Credit card	Fair Credit Billing Act	Your written dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days of the first statement that showed the charge
Any Visa card, recurring charge after you cancelled	Visa dispute code 13.2	Usually 120 days from the transaction
Debit card, recurring debit	Regulation E stop-payment order	Tell your bank at least 3 business days before the next scheduled debit

For a credit card, the issuer must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, and you don’t have to pay the disputed amount while it investigates. The FTC publishes a sample dispute letter you can adapt.

Tell the issuer what happened in one or two sentences, attach your cancellation proof and your refund email, and list each charge with its date and amount.

Step 4: stop the next charge

Cancelling with the seller should stop renewals, but it doesn’t always. Ask your bank to block future charges from that merchant. For a recurring debit, a stop-payment order made 3 business days ahead is a right under Regulation E.

Step 5: report it

Reports are how regulators find patterns. In the United States, report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. You can also post a factual account on the seller’s review page, which helps the next person who reads it before paying.

What makes a dispute more likely to succeed?

• Dates. When you took the test, when you were charged, when you cancelled.
• The checkout page. If you still can, take a screenshot showing how the price and the renewal were presented.
• Your written refund request and the seller’s reply, or the lack of one.
• Speed. Most problems with disputes come from missed deadlines, not weak cases.

How to avoid it next time

Before you pay any test, check the payment screen for a second amount, a trial period or a plan name. Our guide shows the five places renewals hide: how to find an IQ test without a subscription.

At Cogniva, the full report is $29.90, paid once, and nothing renews. If it isn’t worth it to you, you can get a full refund within 14 days from your account, without emailing anyone. The terms are on our refund policy.

Sources

• Federal Trade Commission (March 2023). The pros and cons of free trials, auto-renewals, and subscriptions. consumer.ftc.gov
• Federal Trade Commission. Sample letter for disputing credit or debit card charges. consumer.ftc.gov
• Fair Credit Billing Act. Cornell LII
• Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.10(c), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guide to automatic debit payments. consumerfinance.gov
• Visa dispute reason code 13.2, cancelled recurring transaction: time limits. Chargebacks911
• Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, 15 U.S.C. § 8403. Cornell LII