Refund has failed

Question

Dear Microsoft,

I bought Microsoft 365 Personal on January 8th, and cancelled it on January 9th, as i needed professional instead of personal.

I have never had the refund, and in my Microsoft Account I see 'Refund failed'.

What can I do to solve this?

Best!

Berend

Answer 1

This forum is just a user to user forum, no-one here has any account access, if it is indicated the refund failed, that may indicate a problem with the payment method connected to your account, you will need to contact Microsoft Support directly, try using this method to contact their support.

Go to this link: https://support.microsoft.com/contactus

Select Microsoft 365

Click 'Get Home Support'.

In the box provided, type billing.

Press Enter, then on the next page, scroll down and click 'Sign in to Contact Support'.

Navigate to Microsoft 365 and Office - Manage my Subscription.

Select the 'Chat with support agent in web browser' option

Answer 2

To resolve a “Refund failed” status for a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, use these steps in order:

1. Confirm the subscription and account
2. Go to the Microsoft 365 services page: https://account.microsoft.com/services/microsoft365
3. Sign in with the same Microsoft account that was used to buy Microsoft 365 Personal.
4. Find Microsoft 365 Personal and select Manage.
   • If it shows Turn on recurring billing instead of Manage or Cancel, the subscription is already set to expire and will not renew.

This confirms that the correct account and subscription are being checked.

2. Verify that cancellation was done correctly

From the same Manage page for Microsoft 365 Personal:

1. Check the status and end date of the subscription.
2. If the subscription is still Active with recurring billing on, follow the standard cancellation steps:
   • On the Manage page, select Cancel (or Upgrade or Cancel, depending on what is shown).
   • Follow the on‑screen steps to complete cancellation.

Refund eligibility for Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal, Family, or Premium is only calculated after cancellation is completed.

3. Check refund eligibility and country rules

From the refund documentation:

• Not all cancellations result in a refund.
• In some countries, cancelling can entitle to a prorated refund depending on subscription length:
  • Any subscription length: Canada, Israel, Korea, Turkey.
  • Subscriptions longer than 1 month and renewed: Denmark, Finland, Germany (purchases on or after March 1, 2022), Netherlands, Poland, Portugal.
• If the subscription was purchased in one of these countries, a prorated refund may apply when cancelling.

If the subscription was not purchased in these countries, the system may not automatically grant a refund, even if cancelled shortly after purchase.

4. Understand common reasons for payment/refund issues

If a charge still appears or the refund shows as failed, the documentation highlights several common causes:

1. Cancellation timing: If cancellation is done too close to the billing date (less than 2 days before), the charge may still go through for that period.
2. Wrong Microsoft account: If more than one Microsoft account exists, the charge may be tied to a different account. Use the correct account when checking Services & subscriptions.
3. Payment method issues: If the payment card is expired or there is an overdue balance, this can block normal subscription and refund processing.

To check if there are other charges or accounts involved, use the Manage your payments page from the Microsoft account dashboard as described in the billing investigation article.

5. If the refund shows specifically as “Refund failed”

“Refund failed” means the automatic refund process could not complete. Typical reasons include:

• The original payment method cannot receive the refund (for example, expired or blocked card).
• There is an account or billing issue that requires manual review.

Actions to take:

1. On https://account.microsoft.com/services, confirm there is no overdue amount on any subscription.
2. Ensure the payment method used originally is still valid with the bank or card issuer.
3. Since the system has already attempted and failed the refund, the next step is manual handling by support.
4. When the subscription was bought via app stores or retailers

If Microsoft 365 Personal was not bought directly from Microsoft but from:

• Google Play: Use Google’s refund process: Learn about Google Play refund policies.
• Apple App Store: Request a refund from Apple: Apple support.
• Other retailers (Amazon, Best Buy, etc.): Contact the retailer directly to manage billing and refunds.

In these cases, Microsoft support cannot process the refund; the store that processed the payment must handle it.

7. Contact Microsoft Support for manual refund handling

Because the refund attempt has already failed, this typically requires a support agent to review the account and re‑attempt or adjust the refund.

Use Microsoft’s guided support for subscriptions and billing:

1. Go to the Microsoft support contact page.
2. Choose the product category for Microsoft 365 / Office.
3. Select a billing-related topic such as Billing and Payment updates or Manage my subscription.
4. Choose Chat with a support agent in your web browser or request a call‑back, then explain:
   • The product: Microsoft 365 Personal.
   • Purchase date and cancellation date.
   • That the subscription shows “Refund failed” in the account.

Support agents can:

• Confirm refund eligibility for the specific purchase.
• Check why the refund failed (for example, payment method issue).
• Re‑attempt the refund or advise on alternative resolution (such as credit) if applicable.

If the charge is not recognized or appears as a duplicate, support may also ask to follow the How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft steps before processing.

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References:

• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription
• Request a refund - Microsoft Q&A
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• refund please - Microsoft Q&A
• 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