A recurring charge from Experian on your bank or credit card statement is almost always a paid IdentityWorks subscription that started as a free trial and converted to monthly billing after seven days. The two common amounts are $24.99 per month for IdentityWorks Premium and $34.99 per month for IdentityWorks Family. You can stop the billing by cancelling through your Experian account or by calling membership support, and if the charge is recent you may qualify for a refund.
Which Experian Charge You’re Seeing
Match the dollar amount on your statement to one of Experian’s paid tiers. IdentityWorks Premium bills at $24.99 per month after a 7-day free trial and includes three-bureau credit reports and FICO Scores on a quarterly basis, daily Experian FICO Score updates, three-bureau monitoring, dark web surveillance, Social Security number tracing, up to $1 million in identity theft insurance, and fraud resolution support. IdentityWorks Family bills at $34.99 per month after a 7-day trial and extends the same features to family members. Both require a credit card to start the trial, and both convert automatically to paid subscriptions if you don’t cancel within the trial window.1Experian. Compare Identity Theft Protection Plans and Pricing
Some Experian partner or reseller channels run 30-day trials instead of 7-day ones, so the exact cancellation deadline depends on where you signed up. Once the trial ends, monthly billing starts immediately and continues until you cancel.
If the charge is a one-off rather than a recurring amount, it may be a one-time credit report or FICO Score purchase. Experian’s checkout sometimes presents a subscription enrollment alongside a single purchase, so a quick click can turn what you thought was a one-time buy into a monthly plan. Check the next statement to see whether the same amount posts again.
How to Cancel the Subscription
To cancel online, sign into your Experian account, open your membership or profile settings, and follow the prompts to downgrade or cancel. The steps work but are deliberately multi-step. To cancel by phone, call Experian membership support at 1-866-617-1894.2Experian. Contact Us
Experian sends a confirmation email after cancellation. Save it. You usually keep access through the end of the billing period you’ve already paid for, and no new charges should post after that. Check your next statement to confirm the billing has stopped. If another charge appears, the confirmation email is your evidence when you follow up.
Getting Your Money Back
Experian’s refund policy treats subscription fees differently from one-time purchases. Monthly or annual subscription fees are refundable if you cancel within 30 days of the charge. One-time purchases like individual credit reports, FICO Score purchases, and Experian Boost credits are not refundable.
You’re also eligible for a refund if Experian double-billed you, charged the wrong amount, or processed a charge after your card was cancelled. To request one, contact Experian customer support, choose the refund request option, and provide your account ID, the transaction details, and a short explanation. Attach documentation such as a screenshot of the charge or your cancellation confirmation. Approved refunds typically process within 7 to 10 business days, and the credit appears on your card within another 3 to 5 business days.
If Experian denies the refund and you believe the charge was unauthorized, you have a separate route through your card issuer. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you the right to dispute billing errors with your credit card company in writing within 60 days of the statement date showing the charge. The issuer must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors For a debit card charge, contact your bank about its own dispute process; the Fair Credit Billing Act applies specifically to credit accounts.
How to Check Your Credit Without Paying Experian
Federal law entitles you to a free copy of your credit file from each nationwide bureau once every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com, the centralized source Congress designated for that purpose.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures As of 2026, the three major bureaus voluntarily offer free weekly reports through that same site.5Annual Credit Report. Review Your Credit Report These reports include your full account history, balances, and payment records, though they do not include a numeric credit score.
You also qualify for a free report outside the annual cycle if you’ve received an adverse action notice such as a loan denial, if you’re unemployed and plan to apply for jobs within 60 days, if you receive public assistance, or if you believe your file contains errors due to fraud. These extra free reports come directly from each bureau and don’t count against your allotment through AnnualCreditReport.com.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures
Experian also offers a free account tier that goes beyond what the law requires. A basic account includes your Experian credit report, a FICO Score 8, credit monitoring alerts on your Experian file, score tracking over time, a dark web surveillance report, and the ability to freeze or unfreeze your credit file. You can file disputes and place fraud alerts at no cost, and the free tier does not require a credit card to sign up.1Experian. Compare Identity Theft Protection Plans and Pricing The limits of the free tier are that it only shows your Experian file, not Equifax or TransUnion, and it lacks identity theft insurance and three-bureau monitoring.
The simplest rule for avoiding another surprise charge: if a page asks for your credit card number, you’re signing up for a paid product, not accessing something the law entitles you to for free. Free trial offers are built into the sign-up flow, and the difference between claiming a free score and starting a 7-day trial can be a single click.