How do I get refund for an accidental subscription purchase?

Hi, John Wilkinson

This usually happens when the extra charge is tied to a separate order, or even a different Microsoft account/payment record, so the first thing is to identify exactly where the duplicate purchase landed. Microsoft’s refund tools also work better once you’ve confirmed the order itself.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

First, sign in to your Order history page and look for two Microsoft 365 purchases close together. If Microsoft has already approved a refund, the refund status should show there too.

If you only see one order, open Manage your payments and use the Investigate option. This can help when the charge came from another Microsoft account, for example a second account or a family member using the same card.

If the purchase was made while not signed in, try Guest Order Lookup instead of the normal order page.

If the extra subscription came from a retailer bundle or store card, it is recommended that you go back to that seller for the refund, since retailer purchases are handled by the retailer’s billing process.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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To request a refund for an accidental Microsoft 365 subscription purchase, the subscription must first be canceled, and then eligibility for a refund is determined automatically based on region and policy.

Follow these steps for the accidental Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal, Family, or Premium subscription purchased from Microsoft:

1. Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services/microsoft365 and sign in with the same Microsoft account that was used to buy the accidental subscription.
2. Find the accidental Microsoft 365 subscription (not the one intended to keep) and select Manage.
   • If Turn on recurring billing is shown instead of Manage, that subscription is already set to expire and will not be charged again.
3. On the next page, select Cancel (it may appear as Upgrade or Cancel).
4. Scroll through and follow the on-screen instructions to complete cancellation.

Refund behavior and special cases:

• Not all cancellations result in a refund. Eligibility is checked after cancellation according to Microsoft’s subscription refund policy.
• In Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany (for purchases on or after March 1, 2022), Israel, Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Turkey, canceling may entitle to a prorated refund depending on subscription length. See the “Countries with prorated refunds for Microsoft subscriptions” link in the article for details.
• If the subscription was purchased through Google Play or the Apple App Store, cancellation and refund must be requested through those stores (Google Play or Apple support), not through Microsoft.

If the charge is not recognized or there is difficulty identifying which subscription was created accidentally, first review charges at https://account.microsoft.com/services, then use the refund guidance in the same article. For unresolved billing issues or suspected fraud, contact Microsoft Support via the Contact Support option described in the article.

Be aware that canceling a Microsoft 365 subscription can reduce OneDrive and Outlook.com storage and may eventually lead to data deletion if usage remains above the free allowance.

References:

• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A Hi. How do I request a refund for my subscription please
• I need a refund on the Microsoft 360 - was just charged for it, and the instructions are unclear on how to get a refund. - Microsoft Q&A Can you please refund me? I have not once used the product. Thanks.
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A Help! I have a subscription with Microsoft, due 18.8.26. But £84.99 was taken from my account on 18.1.26 using my old card, ending 8883. This card was then blocked because of another fraudulent transaction and has now expired. I did NOT make this payment. My bank, Santander, tell me I have to take this up with Microsoft. Please re-imburse me.
• Cancel a monthly charge on my visa credit card - Microsoft Q&A I want to cancel a monthly charge on my visa credit card. Thank you.
• investigate a billing charge - Microsoft Q&A i have few charges from Microsoft that i didn't get invoices.. it was charged by my credit card - how can understand what for ???? no invoices on my mail or notice about it// i also need to understand if it my account was hacked