HBO Max: unauthorized charge
Check who charged you and whether a second account exists, then contact HBO Max or the app store.
What does this mean?
Grade A (high: almost everything comes from official pages read directly). 92% of 13 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites.
Collect
- bank statement line
- charge date and amount
- account email
- billing ZIP code
Steps
Check the bank statement to see who charged you. If Apple or Google charged you, contact them.
Check for a second HBO Max account; each account is billed separately.
If WarnerMedia Direct charged you and none of the listed reasons apply, contact HBO Max with the date, amount, account email and billing ZIP code.
Facts you can cite
- Process
New subscribers can see a temporary authorization hold that should clear within 7-10 days.
Source: help.hbomax.com, verified 2026-10-12
Rules in force
- Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) negative option requirements15 U.S.C. 8401-8405
A seller that charges consumers online through a negative option feature (for example an automatic renewal or a free trial that converts to paid) must clearly disclose all material terms before taking billing information, get the consumer's express informed consent before charging, and provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC enforces ROSCA.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
4 citable points
- Policy
Before obtaining the consumer's billing information, the seller must provide text that "clearly and conspicuously discloses all material terms of the transaction".
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
The seller must obtain "a consumer's express informed consent before charging the consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account".
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
A post-transaction third-party seller may not charge a consumer for an online sale unless it discloses the material terms and gets express informed consent, including the consumer's full account number, before charging. An initial merchant may not pass a customer's account number or other billing information to such a seller.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Process
A ROSCA violation is treated as a violation of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the FTC enforces ROSCA with its FTC Act powers and penalties. Report violations to the FTC.
Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
If that fails, escalate
Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.
Customer service
Written complaint
Card or bank dispute
Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)
Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)
Card dispute for charges after a cancellation.
Federal regulator
State agency
Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON:
states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).
Watch out
- The Subscription page needs sign-in with an adult profile.
- The help center lists no phone number or email; Contact us is a footer link that opens contact options.
- Partner-billed subscriptions (Apple, Google Play, Amazon, Roku, Samsung, cable and mobile providers, Disney+ bundle) must be cancelled and refunded through the partner.
Let your AI agent handle this
Escalate Anything is a free, open-source MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Codex and other AI apps. Your agent gets this playbook, keeps a case log with reference numbers and follow-up dates, and drafts each message for you to approve.
1. Set it up (needs uv):
uvx escalate-anything setup2. Ask your agent:
HBO Max charged me [amount] on [date] and I did not authorize it. Use Escalate Anything to get it reversed.Source code, other install options and the Claude Code plugin