Virtual Agent "Call me back" doesn't work

Question

I'm trying to get a refund for an Office 365 subscription that I didn't buy. Apparently the only way to do this is trough a virtual agent wich asks me to introduce my phone number to call me back but every time I confirm my number the message *"Something went wrong at our end. We’re working on it. Try again"*appears. I'm starting to panic because I've tried this for a week now but it's always the same and I only got a month to get a refund. What should I do?

Answer 1

Refund- “Free Trial rolled over”– I was Double / Triple / Quadruple Billed - I need a Refund!

https://1drv.ms/w/s!Am8lVyUzjKfppByLlpPW47BH3yYD?e=g8UvsX I have collected MS articles, forum questions and other articles on cancelling Office 365 and getting refunds. NOTE: The cancel suggestion is for people who have had a “free trial” rolled over in to a paid subscription.

For those of you who have been multiple billed (I’ve seen one complaint of quad billing), do NOT cancel your subscription!

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https://account.microsoft.com/

The first thing to do is sign in to the MS Account site and check to see your expire date. Also check if the subscription it shows you that have and matches what you expect to see (ie 365 Personal vs Family). If the system worked correctly, since you were multiple billed 2,3 or even 4 times, your expire date should reflect that, it should be pushed out by a year for every payment. We are allowed to stack up to 5 years of subscriptions before the system stops adding time. If the expire date does not reflect the payments taken from you, you have to contact MS Billing Support. Good luck …

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/returning-items-you-bought-from-microsoft-store-for-exchange-or-refund-81629012-aa4f-f48b-2394-8596f415072b

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Even for those who have an unwanted 365 subscription the first thing to do is sign in to the MyAccount site. Check the expire date. Turn “Recurring billing” OFF. And try to cancel the subscription. Many people have reprted getting a message that they are "Not allowed" to cancel the subscription!?!? You can. But not you have to talke to MS billing support to get that done.

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PS: Keep an eye on your credit card / bank account to make sure they don’t do it again.

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PS: You might also want to contact your local, state, federal government / better business bureau, or even police to report this theft. Point them to this forum for confirmation that this is an ongoing problem.

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PS: You may also want to switch away from automatic renewal. Buy product key cards in electronics stores, or online, and use them instead. This is an example, not an endorsement of Amazon:
https://www.amazon.ca/Microsoft-Office-Personal-Year-Packaging/dp/B00HV9IM58

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MS isn’t the only one taking “extra” money:

Donald Trump forced to pay back $122 million in donations after supporters were tricked into making recurring payments to his 2020 campaign

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9434165/Donald-Trump-forced-pay-64-million-supporters-2020-presidential-campaign-scam.html

(Note: If the “orange-one” could scam that much money, imagine how much MS is making globally …)

. Cancel 365 Consumer https://support.office.com/en-us/article/cancel-office-365-home-office-365-personal-or-office-365-university-d219b5a5-9443-44cf-bcfa-80a052bdd18c

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The page above has a link to the “Vitual Assistant”, an “A.I.” (aka Artificial Idiot). When it proves to be a waste of time just keep repeating “Real Person”.  It’s only a computer, so it will take it a few minutes to get the message you want to talk to a live service rep.  Who probably won’t be much more help  (sorry, cynical, sad, but too often true …)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2804532

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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-cancel-your-microsoft-subscription-c2c6b0e3-cab3-cb98-d83e-c9ad54620530

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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/cancel-a-microsoft-365-subscription-46e2634c-c64b-4c65-94b9-2cc9c960e91b

Our advisors can help you with technical or billing issues—or help you find the right Microsoft 365 plan for your needs. If you want to cancel your Microsoft 365 subscription, they can help with that too. Just request a call back to discuss what works best for you.

We recommend that you contact an agent to help you cancel your Microsoft 365 subscription or to help you choose a better plan to meet your needs. If you prefer, though, you can cancel it yourself. See the steps below.

Link to online chat help: keep asking to “live person”, repeatedly!

. Billing Support If you accidentally converted your Office 365 Personal, Home, or University subscription to a different plan or you accidentally purchased the wrong plan, contact Account and billing support to get help.

General MS Support site:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/assist?ocid=smc-ivr

AKA.MS/ONLINE (resolves to same site)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-and-billing

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/virtual-agent/?flowId=smc-c&userInput=Talk%20to%20an%20agent&partnerId=smc-alchemy-contactus (Virtual agent, who can redirect you to live, eventually)

Or

1. Go to https://support.microsoft.com/contactus 
2. Select 'Get Support'
3. Describe your issue. Example: Office refund
4. Scroll down to 'Talk to an agent'.
5. In the new window, select your product.
6. Then select your issue. Choose 'Billing'
7. Scroll to select 'Chat'
8. Chat should connect to a live person. If you get stuck in the “Evil A.I.” just keep repeating “Live person” . I’ts only a computer, but even it will eventually get the message you don’t want to talk to it.

. The New York Times Uses the Very Dark Patterns it Derides – Almost as hard to cancel as 365 https://www.nirandfar.com/cancel-new-york-times/

. As a driver for Uber I was charged money to drive a passenger thirteen miles today. https://twitter.com/TheSofaaa/status/1398990015611473927

“Your earnings -$2.20,

Duration 15min. Distance 13.5 mi. Fare pad to you: $9.06”

Explaination: “oops, technical error”

. MICROSOFT TERMS OF SALE United States and Canada Consumer Store- September 2019 https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/storedocs/terms-of-sale

This is no surprise:

<snip>

If you are taking part in any trial-period offer, you must cancel the service by the end of the trial period to avoid incurring new charges unless

</snip>

This next one is “reasonable”

<snip>

16. Return Policy. We will accept returns and exchanges for eligible products for 30 days from the date of purchase or download, as applicable.

…

Some items are not eligible for return or refund; unless otherwise provided by law or by a particular product offer, all purchases of these types of products are final and non-refundable:

·     Except for “Digital Game Products” as defined below, digital apps, games, in-app content and subscriptions, music, movies, TV shows, and associated content;

… you will typically receive your refund in approximately 3-5 business days. Any refunds will be applied to the same account, and using the same method of payment, used to place the order (unless you choose a Store credit in the amount of the refund).

For complete details on how to return eligible products, see our Returns and Refunds page https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=723276&clcid=0x1009.

</snip>

Being a legal document It is not clear if we can return Office or not. It sounds to me like we can’t …

. Investigate a billing charge from Microsoft or MSbill.info (MS) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-investigate-a-billing-charge-from-microsoft-or-msbill-info-398c5328-364c-d5e4-ea8f-f5ad60562a93

When you see unexpected charges from MSbill.info or bill.ms.net in a monthly statement from your bank, credit card, or any other payment provider, we want to help you resolve your question as quickly as possible. Before seeking further info or help, take these steps to compare the unexpected charges to your Microsoft order history.

. Microsoft Store & billing help https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/microsoft-store-and-billing

. Returning items you bought from Microsoft Store for exchange or refund https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/returning-items-you-bought-from-microsoft-store-for-exchange-or-refund-81629012-aa4f-f48b-2394-8596f415072b

When you make a qualifying return, we'll credit the full amount, less the original shipping and handling charges. Refunds are generally processed within 3–5 business days after we receive your item and find it eligible for a return. Refunds are applied to the original payment option.

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Answer 2

I don't want to file a fraud complaint, I just want to follow the process suggested by microsoft (to request a callback), but the same error I mentioned keeps occurring. What I'm wondering is what can I do to request the callback correctly or is there any other way to talk to someone at microsoft to cancel the subscription?

Answer 3

I did not start a trial, I’ve checked ALL accounts in my family, no one ordered the Family subscription for 99.99, there is NO ORDER, NO EMAIL in ANY of our accounts but it was charged to me. I filed a fraud complaint with my bank. I want to talk to Microsoft and know who used my card and refund my money now! Not in how ever long it takes an investigation by my back to take place. You took my money now explain why.

Answer 4

If you activated an Office 365 trial, in doing so you would have provided bank/card details and once the 30 day trial had expired you would have been billed, as was clearly stated.

If you really didn't do this then file a fraud complaint with your bank

https://office.com/myaccount

Billing help