Charged for extras you didn't choose at checkout? How to get the money back

In the EU and the UK, a seller needs your express consent to any payment on top of the price of the main thing you bought. If it used a pre-ticked box or another default you had to reject, you are entitled to that payment back. In the US, a charge you never accepted on a credit card is a billing error you can dispute within 60 days of the statement.

Which kind of extra charge you have

How the charge got there decides how strong your case is.

• A box already ticked. Delivery slots, recycling, protection plans, donations, insurance. This is the strongest case in the EU and the UK.
• Something put in your basket for you. The same rule applies: you had to remove it to avoid paying.
• A fee shown only at the end. Booking, service or "handling" fees left out of the first price. The total price rules apply.
• Added on the phone or at the till. If nobody asked you, it is the same as a default.
• You ticked it yourself, with the price clear. A weak case. Ask for a goodwill refund and cancel anything unused.

The UK competition regulator put it plainly in June 2026, when it ordered an appliance retailer to refund about 40,000 customers: businesses are not allowed to use pre-ticked boxes or other forms of automatic opt-in for optional extras which cost money.

What the law says where you live

Where you live	The rule	What it gives you
EU	Consumer Rights Directive, Article 22	Any extra payment needs your express consent; a default you had to reject means you are entitled to the payment back
EU, online and phone	Consumer Rights Directive, Article 6	The total price, with all extra charges, before you are bound; charges not shown are not yours to pay
EU and UK flights	Regulation 1008/2008, Article 23	Optional extras must be opt-in; the final price includes every unavoidable fee
UK	Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 40	The same as Article 22: a pre-ticked extra must be reimbursed
US	Fair Credit Billing Act	A credit card charge you did not accept is a billing error; write within 60 days of the statement
Brazil	Consumer Defence Code, Articles 39 and 42	A service supplied without your request has nothing to pay; an undue charge you paid comes back double

In the UK, since 6 April 2025, leaving mandatory fees out of the price first shown can also be an unfair commercial practice under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The CMA can fine businesses for it and order refunds, but it does not take individual complaints. For your own money, the request to the seller and your card are the route.

In the US there is no general federal rule against pre-ticked boxes. Since 12 May 2025 the FTC requires the total price, fees included, for live-event tickets and hotel or holiday rental stays. California has required most prices to include all mandatory fees since 1 July 2024.

Flights, insurance and other companies' products

Airlines and travel sites have their own rule. For a flight from an airport in the EU or the UK, optional price supplements must be shown clearly at the start of the booking and accepted on an opt-in basis. In 2012 the Court of Justice of the EU said this covers cancellation insurance from another company sold with the flight.

If the extra is a policy or plan run by another company, do two things. Ask the seller to refund it, because it was added in their checkout. Then cancel it with the provider in writing too, and keep the confirmation.

What to do, step by step

1. List every extra. Take each line and amount from the order confirmation. Add them up.
2. Screenshot the checkout. Today, before it changes, with the box ticked by default and the date visible.
3. Write one message. Each extra, its amount, how it was added, the rule, and a refund to your card by a date 14 days away.
4. Cancel any policy. With the provider, in writing, the same day.
5. Chase once. If the date passes, a short reminder with a new date seven days away.
6. Use your card. UK credit card over £100 for a single item: Section 75. Otherwise a chargeback. US credit card: the billing error letter.
7. Go to a consumer body. Then the small claims court if needed.

The message to send

Subject: Order NHD-20418: refund of extras I did not choose

Dear Norland Home Direct,

On 30 October 2026 I ordered a fridge freezer from your website, order NHD-20418, priced at £479.00. I was charged £517.98. The difference is two extras I did not choose: 1. Old appliance removal, £25.00 2. Priority delivery slot, £13.98

Both boxes were already ticked at the checkout. I did not give my express consent to either payment. Under regulation 40 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, I am entitled to have them reimbursed. There was no old appliance to collect, and the fridge freezer arrived with your standard delivery on 3 November.

Please refund £38.98 to the debit card I paid with by 20 November 2026, and confirm by email when you have done so.

Swap in your own details. In the EU, name Article 22 of the Consumer Rights Directive or your national law. For a flight, name Article 23 of Regulation 1008/2008. In Brazil, name Articles 39 and 42 of the Código de Defesa do Consumidor.

Time limits and where to complain

• No reply by your date: a short reminder with a new date seven days away.
• A voucher instead of money: say no, and ask again for the refund to your card.
• US credit card: write to the issuer's billing error address within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge. The issuer must acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within two billing cycles, no more than 90 days.
• Chargeback: a card scheme process with time limits your bank sets. Ask today.
• UK: the Citizens Advice consumer service, which passes reports to Trading Standards; then the small claims track.
• EU: the national consumer authority or a consumer ADR body; for a seller in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre in yours, free.
• Brazil: the seller's SAC, then consumidor.gov.br or Procon, and the Juizado Especial Cível.

The short version

List every extra on your order and screenshot the checkout. If a box was ticked for you, the EU and UK rule is clear: no express consent, no payment, and you are entitled to it back. Ask the seller in one message, with the amounts, the rule and a date. If they refuse or go quiet, use your card, then a consumer body.

Questions

The seller says I could have unticked the box. Is that right?

No, in the EU and the UK that is exactly what the rule forbids. Consent inferred from a default you had to reject is not express consent, and the law gives you that payment back.

They used the service anyway. Can I still get a refund?

Yes. The rule refunds an extra payment you never expressly agreed to, whether or not the service was carried out. In Brazil a service supplied without your request counts as a free sample, with nothing to pay.

They offered me a voucher. Do I have to take it?

No. A refund means money back to the card or account you paid with. A voucher or store credit is an offer you can refuse.

Does this apply to airline seats, bags and insurance?

Yes, for flights from airports in the EU and the UK. Optional extras must be opt-in, and the Court of Justice has said this includes insurance from another company sold with the flight.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change and depend on where you live: check the official source before you rely on a date or an amount.

Sources

• Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, Articles 6 and 22 (EUR-Lex, checked November 2026)
• Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 40 (legislation.gov.uk, checked November 2026)
• CMA orders Marks Electrical to refund customers over pre-selected extra charges (GOV.UK, checked November 2026)
• Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. 1666 (Cornell LII, checked November 2026)