Relatio sells itself as a relationship advice app designed to help people rebuild after a breakup. What it doesn't make obvious — until you see your bank statement — is that signing up quietly locks you into a recurring subscription you never explicitly agreed to. That's the part that has thousands of people frantically searching for answers.
The pattern is always the same. Someone pays a small one-time fee, sometimes as low as $ 20, expecting a straightforward service. Then a month later, $ 49.99 disappears from their account. No clear warning. No reminder email. Just a charge. In some cases, users were told they were buying a lifetime subscription, only to discover they were being billed monthly. That's not a misunderstanding — that's a problem.
This guide walks you through exactly how to cancel your Relatio subscription, how to dispute unauthorized charges, and what your consumer rights actually are. I've helped people get out of subscriptions like this hundreds of times. The most important thing I can tell you right now: act fast, document everything, and don't assume the company will make it easy.
Quick Overview: Most Important Warnings and Steps
Before anything else, here's what you need to know at a glance:
• You may have been enrolled in a subscription without clear consent. Multiple users report being charged €49.99/month after paying a small initial fee.
• The price can jump without warning. Users report going from €20 to €49.99 with no clear notification or reminder before renewal.
• "Lifetime subscription" claims have proven false. At least one user was explicitly told it was a lifetime deal and still got charged monthly.
• Act within 14 days if you're in the EU. Under EU consumer protection law, you have a 14-day cooling-off period for digital subscriptions purchased online.
• Document everything before you cancel. Take screenshots of your payment history, any promotional language you saw, and all email confirmations.
• Cancelling doesn't guarantee a refund. You'll need to separately dispute the charge with your bank or card provider if Relatio refuses.
• Time to Cancel is the easiest way to handle this. If the process feels overwhelming or the company isn't responding, Time to Cancel can manage the entire cancellation on your behalf.
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Most Common Problems When Cancelling Relatio
Let's be honest about what's actually happening here, because sugarcoating it doesn't help anyone.
The biggest complaint — and it shows up again and again — is unauthorized charges. One user put it bluntly: "I was charged $58 without consent or even knowing about it. Now I have to go through a series of forms and submissions to try and get it back. Fraudulent and a waste of my time." That's not an isolated incident. That's the experience a significant chunk of Relatio users are having.
Then there's the price bait-and-switch. Someone pays €20 to get started. They're not clearly told this will auto-renew. They're definitely not told it will auto-renew at more than double the original price. When €49.99 hits their account, they're blindsided. As one reviewer put it: "The price jump feels misleading, especially considering the actual value of the service." That word — misleading — matters a lot when it comes to your consumer rights, which we'll get to.
The "lifetime subscription" lie is particularly egregious. One user reported being told explicitly that their subscription was a lifetime deal, only to be charged €49.99 for two consecutive months afterward. If you were sold a subscription under false pretenses, that's not just frustrating — it may constitute deceptive trade practices under applicable consumer protection law.
And then the cancellation process itself is deliberately cumbersome. Users describe having to navigate multiple forms and submissions just to attempt a refund. This is a classic dark pattern: making the exit door as complicated as possible so people give up. Don't give up.
Preparation: What You Need to Know Before You Cancel Relatio
Cancelling a subscription like Relatio without preparation is like going into a negotiation without knowing your position. Here's how to set yourself up properly.
Step 1: Gather your evidence. Before you touch anything, screenshot every charge on your bank or credit card statement related to Relatio. Note the exact dates and amounts. Also screenshot any promotional language you saw when you signed up — particularly anything that said "one-time fee," "lifetime access," or anything that downplayed the recurring nature of the subscription.
Step 2: Find your original confirmation email. Search your inbox for any email from Relatio or getrelatio.com. This is your paper trail. If it says "one-time payment" anywhere, that's evidence you'll want to hold onto.
Step 3: Check exactly what you're being charged. Log into your Relatio account at getrelatio.com and navigate to your subscription or billing settings. Find the renewal date — you want to cancel before the next billing cycle hits, not after.
Step 4: Know your cooling-off rights. If you signed up within the last 14 days and you're based in the EU, you have a statutory right to cancel and receive a full refund under EU Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights. This applies even to digital services, with limited exceptions — and those exceptions require clear, explicit consent that Relatio may not have properly obtained.
Step 5: Decide on your approach. You can cancel directly through the app or website, contact Relatio's support team by email, or — if you want to skip the runaround entirely — use Time to Cancel to handle it professionally.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cancel Your Relatio Subscription
Here's the most straightforward path to cancelling your Relatio subscription. Follow these steps in order and document each one.
Step 1: Log into your account. Go to https://getrelatio.com/ and sign in with the email address you used to register. If you've forgotten your password, use the password reset option before you do anything else.
Step 2: Navigate to subscription settings. Once you're logged in, look for your account menu — usually in the top right corner. Look for options labeled "Settings," "Account," "Billing," or "Subscription." The exact wording may vary, but you're looking for anything related to your payment plan.
Step 3: Find the cancellation option. Inside your subscription settings, look for a "Cancel Subscription," "Manage Plan," or "Unsubscribe" option. Click it. You may be taken through a retention flow — screens designed to talk you out of cancelling. Skip through them and confirm your cancellation.
Step 4: Request written confirmation. After cancelling, look for a confirmation email. If you don't receive one within a few hours, email Relatio's support team directly through the contact option on their website. State clearly that you have cancelled and ask for written confirmation of the cancellation date.
Step 5: If you can't find a cancellation option — escalate. Some users report that cancellation options are buried or nonexistent. In that case, send a formal written cancellation request via email. Include your full name, the email address on your account, and a clear statement that you are cancelling your subscription effective immediately. Keep a copy of that email.
Step 6: Contact your bank. Regardless of whether Relatio acknowledges your cancellation, call your bank or credit card provider and ask them to block future charges from Relatio. If you've already been charged without consent, you can file a chargeback. Your bank is often your fastest and most reliable ally in situations like this.
Step 7: Report the issue to consumer protection authorities. If you believe you've been enrolled in a subscription without clear consent or were misled about the terms, file a report with the FTC (U.S.) at https://www.ftc.gov/consumer-protection or consult applicable consumer protection laws at https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/consumer_protection_laws. These reports matter — they create a record and can trigger investigations.
What If Something Goes Wrong? Complaints, Refunds, and Escalation
Let's say you've tried to cancel and Relatio isn't playing ball. Maybe they're ignoring your emails. Maybe they charged you again after you thought you'd cancelled. Here's what to do.
File a chargeback with your bank. This is your most powerful tool. Contact your bank or card issuer, explain that you were charged without proper consent, and provide your screenshots as evidence. A chargeback reverses the charge and puts the burden on Relatio to prove the charge was legitimate. Given the volume of complaints about unclear enrollment, many users have a strong case.
Report to the FTC. If you're in the United States and you believe Relatio's practices constitute deceptive advertising or unauthorized billing, file a complaint at https://www.ftc.gov/consumer-protection. The FTC takes reports of deceptive subscription practices seriously — especially when there's a clear pattern of misleading consumers.
Consult consumer protection law. For a broader understanding of your rights under U.S. consumer protection law — including laws around negative option billing — visit https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/consumer_protection_laws. In the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive both have provisions that directly apply here.
Contact your country's consumer protection agency. In the Netherlands, that's the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM). In Germany, the Verbraucherzentrale. In the UK, Citizens Advice or the Competition and Markets Authority. These bodies can mediate disputes and, in serious cases, take enforcement action.
Let Time to Cancel handle it. If navigating all of this feels like a second job — and honestly, it often does — Time to Cancel specializes in exactly these situations. They know the process, they know the pressure points, and they handle the back-and-forth so you don't have to. For a lot of people, it's simply the fastest and least stressful way to get this resolved.
Your Consumer Rights When Cancelling Relatio
This is the part most cancellation guides skip over. It shouldn't be.
The 14-Day Cooling-Off Period (EU). Under EU law — specifically Directive 2011/83/EU — consumers have 14 days to withdraw from a contract for digital services purchased online, without needing to give a reason. This right can only be waived if you explicitly consent to immediate delivery of the service and acknowledge that you're giving up your right of withdrawal. If Relatio didn't clearly obtain that consent, the cooling-off period likely still applies to your purchase.
Negative Option Billing Rules. Both U.S. and EU regulators have cracked down hard on "negative option" billing — where your silence or inaction is treated as consent to be charged. The FTC's Negative Option Rule requires that subscription terms be clearly disclosed, that consent be properly obtained, and that cancellation be straightforward. If Relatio enrolled you without clear disclosure, that's a potential violation.
The Right to Dispute Unauthorized Charges. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act (U.S.) and similar EU protections, you have the right to dispute charges on your credit card that you didn't authorize. Your card issuer is required to investigate and, in many cases, reverse the charge while the investigation is ongoing.
GDPR (EU residents). If you're in the EU, you also have the right to request deletion of your personal data from Relatio's systems once you've cancelled. Send a written request via email explicitly invoking your right to erasure under GDPR Article 17. They are legally required to comply within 30 days.
Misleading Commercial Practices. If you were told this was a "lifetime subscription" and then charged monthly — or if the recurring nature and price wasn't clearly disclosed — that may constitute a misleading commercial practice under both EU and U.S. law. That's grounds for a refund claim and a regulatory complaint, full stop.
Alternatives to Relatio
Once you've cancelled, you might still want support — especially if you're going through a breakup or a difficult relationship period. That's completely valid. The issue was never the idea of seeking help; it was the way Relatio handled the billing.
There are legitimate, transparent options out there. Many licensed therapists and counselors now offer online sessions through platforms that clearly state their pricing upfront, charge per session rather than through auto-renewing subscriptions, and give you full control over your billing. Platforms like BetterHelp and Talkspace — both of which operate with clearly disclosed subscription terms — are worth looking into. So is finding a local therapist through your insurance provider or a therapy directory.
For self-guided support, books on relationship psychology, grief after breakups, and attachment theory are freely available through libraries and are often far more substantive than app-based advice. Authors like Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Guy Winch have well-regarded, evidence-based work on exactly this kind of emotional recovery.
Whatever you choose next, read the terms carefully before entering any payment information. Look specifically for: what the recurring charge will be after any trial period, what date it renews, and how easy it is to cancel. If those details are hidden or vague, walk away.
