Annual Membership

Question

I am charged annually for a membership that I am not sure I have access to any longer. The laptops are all old and retired. I also am charged $1.99 each month through Microsoft for something seemingly separate???

Answer 1

There are likely two separate Microsoft subscriptions or charges on the account: an annual Microsoft 365 subscription (membership) and a small recurring monthly charge (for a different subscription or service). Even if the old laptops are retired, subscriptions continue to bill until recurring billing is turned off or the subscription is cancelled.

To review and change these charges:

1. Check all Microsoft subscriptions
   1. Go to the Subscriptions page: https://account.microsoft.com/services and sign in with the Microsoft account that was used when the charges were set up.
   2. Look for:
      • An annual Microsoft 365 subscription (for example, Microsoft 365 Family/Personal/Business).
      • Any monthly subscriptions around $1.99.
   3. For each subscription, select Manage to see billing frequency, next charge date, and status.
2. Turn off recurring billing or cancel
   1. On the subscription’s Manage page, if recurring billing is on, choose Turn off recurring billing or Cancel (wording may vary).
   2. Confirm the change. The subscription will stay active until the expiry date shown, but no further automatic charges should occur.
   3. If needed, use Switch plan to change between annual and monthly billing instead of cancelling, as described in the recurring billing article.
3. If charges continue after cancelling
   • Cancellations must be more than 2 days before the billing date. If cancelled too close to the billing date, one more charge may still appear. Check the subscription end date on the Subscriptions page.
   • If the charge does not match anything under the signed-in account, there may be another Microsoft account using the same card. Use the Manage your payments / Payment options page and the Investigate option to look for other accounts using the card.
4. If there are duplicate or unrecognized charges
   • Review order history and bank statements to see if there are multiple payments for the same product, or charges from another retailer (for example, Amazon) in addition to Microsoft.
   • If another retailer is involved (such as Amazon), contact that retailer to cancel and request a refund for their portion.
   • For unrecognized or disputed charges, contact Microsoft Support or the Microsoft Billing team so they can securely review the billing profile and advise on refunds where eligible.
5. If the account cannot be accessed
   • If sign-in to the Microsoft account is not possible and recovery fails, cancelling future charges directly with the bank or card issuer is an option. The bank can block further recurring payments to Microsoft for that card.

---

References:

• Turn recurring billing on or off for a Microsoft subscription
• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription
• I've been charged twice
• How to resolve being billed on 2 separate charge accounts for the same thing - Microsoft Q&A
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - Microsoft Q&A
• Have been billed multiple times on multiple charge cards for renewal - Microsoft Q&A
• How to Cancel Microsoft 365 subscription if you do not have account info? Or get anyone to help? - Microsoft Q&A