$4,000 Azure bill in less than 48 hours?

Question

Dear Microsoft Azure Customer Support Team,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention an urgent matter concerning my recent experience with Microsoft Azure services. I have been a new customer of Azure, and I was excited to explore and leverage your cloud services to build and test an AI model for the first time. However, my initial experience has been marred by an unexpected and substantial billing issue.

I became aware of this issue when I checked my billing dashboard and was shocked to discover that my account had accumulated charges totaling $3,700 within a short period (<48 hours). This discovery came as a complete surprise to me, as I had not received any prior notification or warning about the rapidly escalating costs associated with my Azure services. This lack of transparency and communication has been deeply concerning.

In response to this alarming bill, I promptly took action to mitigate further charges. Specifically, I switched the Form Recognizer service, which accounted for 98% of the total bill, to the Free plan. To my dismay, the charges continued to accrue even after this change, reaching approximately $4,100.

In an attempt to halt the escalating costs, I fully canceled and removed the Form Recognizer resource from my Azure account at around 11 pm PT on October 9, 2023. However, to my astonishment, the billing continued to increase, and by the morning of October 10, 2023, it had reached approximately $4,600. This bewildering and unexplained behavior of the billing system has left me both frustrated and concerned.

I kindly request that Microsoft Azure addresses the following issues promptly:

Clarification of Billing: I would appreciate a thorough explanation as to why my billing continued to increase even after I had taken the proactive step of shutting down the relevant Form Recognizer service. Understanding the cause of this issue is crucial to prevent future occurrences and to build trust in your services.

Lack of Notification: As a new customer, I was not given any warning or notification regarding the rapid accumulation of charges, which reached $4,000 within a span of just 48 hours. I believe that such spending is abnormal for a new user, and it is imperative that Microsoft Azure implements improved communication and alerts to prevent similar surprises for other customers in the future.

Billing Refund Request: Given the circumstances and the actions I took to halt further usage of the resources, I kindly request a one-time forgiveness refund for the charges incurred during this incident. This refund would not only help alleviate the financial burden this unexpected bill has placed on me but also encourage me to continue using Azure services and explore the possibility of recommending them to my team.

I genuinely believe in the potential of Microsoft Azure and would like to continue my journey as a satisfied customer. However, the resolution of this billing issue and the requested refund are critical in ensuring a positive customer experience.

I kindly request a prompt response to this matter!