Recurring Charges from Online Donations, Legal Claims, Consumer Rights, and How to Dispute Unauthorized Fees
If you’ve made political or charitable donations online and discovered unexpected recurring charges showing up on your credit card for weeks or months afterward, you’re not alone. Consumers have reported being charged repeatedly without consent through donation platforms like WinRed and ActBlue, and the FTC sent more than $27.6 million to 1,215,337 affected consumers in December 2025 for unauthorized billing schemes. These unauthorized recurring donations happen when platforms use pre-checked boxes or confusing opt-out processes that trick people into agreeing to monthly charges they never intended to make.
What Are Unauthorized Recurring Charges from Donations?
Here’s what’s happening. You click to donate $25 one time to support a candidate or charity. But buried in the fine print or pre-checked boxes, you’re actually agreeing to $25 every single month—sometimes doubled or tripled through additional pre-checked boxes that you’d have to manually uncheck to avoid.
WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform, has faced allegations that it drains unsuspecting small donors through recurring charges, with some consumers charged tens of thousands of dollars across multiple credit cards. Investigations found that political fundraisers took millions from elderly donors including those with dementia, with Trump’s campaigns refunding more than $64 million in unauthorized online donations in late 2020 alone.
The problem hits elderly donors hardest. In one case reviewed by CNN, an 80-year-old retired engineer with dementia gave away close to half a million dollars through recurring donations he never intended to make, ultimately losing roughly $300,000 despite receiving partial refunds.
Which Consumers Are Affected?
You’re likely affected if you made online donations between 2019 and 2025 through platforms like WinRed or ActBlue and noticed unexpected recurring charges on your credit card statements that you didn’t explicitly authorize.
Four state attorneys general launched consumer protection investigations into both WinRed and ActBlue in 2021 over their use of pre-checked boxes that automatically authorized recurring contributions. The Trump campaign, Republican National Committee and their shared accounts issued more than 530,000 refunds worth $64.3 million to online donors in the final two and a half months of 2020, while Biden’s campaign and Democratic committees made 37,000 online refunds totaling only $5.6 million in that same period.
Elderly and vulnerable donors face the worst impact. Trump’s campaigns brought in more than $400,000 between July 2019 and June 2024 from elderly consumers who gave unwittingly through recurring donations.
What Laws Apply to Donation Billing Practices?
Several federal and state laws protect consumers from unauthorized recurring charges and deceptive billing practices:
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA): These federal laws give you the right to dispute unauthorized credit card charges and require clear disclosure of payment terms before you’re billed.
Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA): This law protects consumers when transactions are potentially fraudulent and requires explicit authorization for recurring electronic payments.
State Consumer Protection Statutes: Many states have automatic renewal laws requiring businesses to obtain clear, affirmative consent before charging recurring fees and to provide easy cancellation options.
California passed Assembly Bill 775 in September 2022 to protect contributors from pre-checked boxes in online campaign fundraising, though Congress did not follow up on a similar recommendation by the Federal Elections Commission in 2021.
How Do These Billing Practices Violate Consumer Protection Laws?
The pre-checked box tactic works like this: donation pages include boxes that are already checked by default, automatically enrolling you in recurring monthly donations unless you notice and manually uncheck them before submitting.
Attorneys general stated that the use of pre-checked boxes “can be inherently misleading, and result in consumers making unwanted and unintended purchases”. According to the New York Times investigation from 2021, the Trump campaign added another pre-checked box closer to the election that doubled a person’s contribution, which was called the “money bomb” inside the campaign.
The Federal Election Commission voted to recommend that Congress ban pre-checked recurring donation boxes, calling for amendments requiring those soliciting recurring contributions to receive affirmative consent from contributors and to immediately cancel recurring contributions upon request.
What About Charitable Donation Fraud?
Beyond political donations, charity fundraising fraud represents another major concern. The FTC and 46 agencies from 38 states stopped a massive telefunding operation that collected more than $110 million using deceptive charitable fundraising calls, and in September 2025, the FTC and 20 states reached a settlement with Kars-R-Us.com over an alleged charity fraud scheme where the company retained more than $38 million that advertisements claimed would be donated to breast cancer programs.
How to Dispute Unauthorized Charges
If you’ve been charged recurring donations you didn’t authorize, here’s what you need to do immediately:
Contact your credit card company or bank: Call the number on the back of your card and dispute the unauthorized charges. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have 60 days from when the statement was sent to dispute billing errors. Credit card companies typically provide stronger chargeback protections than debit cards.
Document everything: Gather your credit card statements showing the unauthorized charges, any emails or receipts from your original donation, and screenshots of the donation page if possible.
Request a refund from the platform: WinRed told one donor that he could only be refunded for donations made in the last 60 days—nothing earlier, nor any processing fees. Request refunds anyway, but don’t rely on this as your only option.
File complaints with regulators: Report unauthorized charges to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general’s consumer protection office.
Are There Class Action Lawsuits?
As of January 2026, there are no active class action settlements specifically for WinRed or ActBlue unauthorized recurring charges that consumers can join. However, multiple state investigations remain ongoing.
In 2022, a judge gave permission for continuing an investigation by several state attorneys general into WinRed’s fundraising practices. If class action litigation develops, affected consumers should monitor state attorney general websites and class action tracking sites for updates.
What Compensation Is Available?
Your compensation options depend on how you pursue your claim:
Credit card chargebacks: If successful, you’ll receive a full refund of the disputed charge. This is often the fastest route to getting your money back.
Platform refunds: Some donors received partial refunds only for donations made in the last 60 days, leaving thousands of dollars in earlier charges unrefunded.
FTC enforcement actions: The FTC distributed more than $27.6 million to over 1.2 million consumers affected by unauthorized billing schemes in December 2025. If the FTC brings an enforcement action, affected consumers may receive automatic refunds or claim forms.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t wait to dispute charges. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days from the statement date to dispute billing errors with your credit card company. After that window closes, your rights become much more limited.
Don’t assume platforms will automatically refund you. Even after one donor showed he hadn’t logged into his WinRed account since 2022, the platform only refunded donations from the last 60 days, not processing fees.
Don’t ignore small recurring charges. What starts as $20 per month can add up to thousands if left unchecked, especially if the platform runs transactions multiple times.
What to Do Next
Step 1: Pull your credit card statements for the past 12 months and highlight all donation-related charges. Look for multiple charges to the same political or charitable organization.
Step 2: Call your credit card company immediately to dispute unauthorized recurring charges. Explain that you made a one-time donation but were enrolled in recurring monthly charges without your knowledge or consent.
Step 3: Send a written dispute letter to your credit card company within 60 days of the statement date. Include copies of your credit card statements showing the unauthorized charges and any documentation of your original one-time donation.
Step 4: File a complaint with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general’s consumer protection division. These complaints help regulators identify patterns of illegal billing practices.
Step 5: If you’re still being charged, cancel your credit card and request a new card number. Before canceling, make sure you update any legitimate recurring payments (like utilities or subscriptions) to avoid service interruptions.
FAQs
What are recurring charges from political donations?
These are repeated monthly charges that appear on your credit card after you make what you thought was a one-time political donation, typically caused by pre-checked boxes that automatically enrolled you in monthly donations unless you manually unchecked them.
How do I know if I’ve been charged unauthorized recurring donations?
Review your credit card statements for multiple charges to political campaigns or fundraising platforms like WinRed or ActBlue that you don’t remember authorizing. Look for charges that appear every month for the same amount.
Can I dispute these charges with my credit card company?
Yes. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you can dispute unauthorized charges within 60 days of the statement date. Call your credit card company and explain that you made a one-time donation but were charged repeatedly without authorization.
Is there a class action lawsuit I can join for WinRed or ActBlue?
As of January 2026, there are no active class action settlements for these platforms that consumers can join, though state attorney general investigations continue. Monitor class action tracking websites for updates.
What’s the deadline to dispute unauthorized charges?
You have 60 days from the statement date to dispute billing errors under the Fair Credit Billing Act. Don’t delay—the sooner you dispute, the better your chances of a full refund.
Will I get all my money back?
It depends. Credit card chargebacks often provide full refunds if successful. Platform refunds may be limited to recent charges only. Some donors have recovered thousands through chargebacks after platforms refused full refunds.
What should I do if I’m still being charged recurring donations?
Cancel the recurring donation immediately by contacting the platform and your credit card company. If charges continue, cancel your card and get a new card number to stop future unauthorized transactions.
Last Updated: January 28, 2026
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
If you’ve been hit with unauthorized recurring charges from online donations, dispute them with your credit card company within 60 days and file complaints with the FTC and your state attorney general. These steps protect your rights and help regulators track illegal billing practices.
Stay informed, stay protected. — AllAboutLawyer.com
About the Author
Sarah Klein, JD, is a licensed attorney and legal content strategist with over 12 years of experience across civil, criminal, family, and regulatory law. At All About Lawyer, she covers a wide range of legal topics — from high-profile lawsuits and courtroom stories to state traffic laws and everyday legal questions — all with a focus on accuracy, clarity, and public understanding.
Her writing blends real legal insight with plain-English explanations, helping readers stay informed and legally aware.
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