An “Anywherestories” charge on your bank or credit card statement is a recurring subscription fee from AnyStories, a mobile reading app that sells access to e-books and serialized fiction through a membership called AnyStories Unlimited. The billing descriptor doesn’t match the app’s name, which is why the charge often looks unfamiliar. If you want it to stop, cancel the subscription through the app store you used to sign up, and if the charge was unauthorized or you canceled and were billed anyway, dispute it with your card issuer.
Why the Charge Appeared
AnyStories is operated by xREAD ASAP LTD. It offers free content alongside a paid tier, AnyStories Unlimited, that renews automatically on a regular cycle using the payment method on file. The company does not send a notice before each renewal.1AnyStories. AnyStories Unlimited Terms of Service
The most common reason people are surprised by this charge is a free trial that converted. Trials typically require a payment method upfront, and if you don’t cancel before the trial ends, the subscription becomes paid and your card is charged.1AnyStories. AnyStories Unlimited Terms of Service Fees are billed in U.S. dollars or the local-currency equivalent.
How to Cancel the Subscription
AnyStories directs users to cancel through the app store where the subscription was purchased, not inside the AnyStories app.1AnyStories. AnyStories Unlimited Terms of Service Cancel before the next billing date, or you’ll be charged again.
On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, select AnyStories, and tap Cancel Subscription. On a Mac, open the App Store, click your name, go to Account Settings, scroll to Subscriptions, click Manage, and cancel from there. From a browser, sign in at account.apple.com and follow the on-screen instructions.2Apple. How to Cancel a Subscription From Apple
On Android, open the Google Play Store and manage the subscription from your account’s Payments and subscriptions settings.
If AnyStories doesn’t appear in either app store’s subscription list, search your email for a receipt. The receipt will tell you which account and platform processed the sign-up. If no app-store receipt exists at all, the subscription was likely set up directly through the AnyStories website, and you’ll need to contact the company to cancel.
Getting a Refund From AnyStories
The company’s terms state that subscription fees “cannot be cancelled and cannot be refunded.”1AnyStories. AnyStories Unlimited Terms of Service The one exception in the policy is a narrow one: if AnyStories terminates your account for reasons unrelated to a violation of its terms, fraud, or abuse, it may issue a prorated refund at its discretion. For almost everyone else, the practical refund route is a dispute with your bank or card issuer.
How to Dispute the Charge With Your Bank
If you didn’t authorize the subscription, or you canceled and were still charged, federal law gives you the right to dispute the transaction. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your liability for unauthorized credit card charges is capped at $50.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
Most card issuers let you start a dispute by phone or through their app, which is the fastest first step. To formally trigger your legal protections, follow up with a written notice sent to the issuer’s billing inquiry address (not the payment address) within 60 days of the statement date on which the charge first appeared. Include your name, account number, the reason the charge is wrong, and any supporting evidence such as a cancellation confirmation.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute a Charge on My Credit Card Bill Certified mail creates a paper trail.
Once the dispute is filed, the issuer must acknowledge it in writing within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges While the investigation is open, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount, close your account over it, or report you as delinquent on that charge to credit bureaus. You still have to pay the undisputed parts of your bill.
Reporting a Deceptive Sign-Up or Cancellation
If the sign-up process hid the recurring charge, or if canceling was unreasonably difficult, those practices can violate federal law. The FTC’s Click-to-Cancel rule, finalized in October 2024, requires companies offering recurring subscriptions to make cancellation at least as easy as sign-up, to clearly disclose material terms before taking billing information, and to get the consumer’s express informed consent before charging.5Federal Trade Commission. FTC Announces Final Click-to-Cancel Rule6Federal Register. Negative Option Rule The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act imposes similar requirements on online sellers.
You can report the practice to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and file a billing-dispute complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. State attorneys general also accept consumer complaints and can act when they see a pattern; the New York Attorney General’s office, for instance, maintains an online portal for complaints about apps and streaming services.7New York State Attorney General. File a Consumer Complaint Most states offer a similar process through the attorney general’s website.