How do I get a refund for redundant subscriptions paid over several months?

Question

Somehow I have ended up paying for 3 MS 365 subscriptions; i am billed $9.99 monthly for MS WORD, $9.99 monthly for MS365 Personal, and $1.99 monthly for MS365 Basic with One Drive. Can I get a refund for the months that I paid for the 2 extra subscriptions? I would think that Microsoft would have caught this and automatically canceled the 2 unnecessary ones or notified me that I do not need all 3 so I could have canceled and saved those charges.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

Just to clarify, Microsoft does not automatically cancel duplicate subscriptions. Each one stays active until you cancel it.

For refunds, it usually depends on how recent the charges are. Older payments over several months are less likely to be refunded, but it can still be reviewed.

For now, let’s stop the extra charges first:

• Go to Services & subscriptions https://account.microsoft.com/services and sign in with your Microsoft account.
• Check if all 3 subscriptions are listed there
• Cancel the ones you don’t need and turn off recurring billing

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Let me know how it goes or if you have any further questions or concerns.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Refund eligibility for overlapping or redundant Microsoft 365 subscriptions depends on how and where each subscription was purchased, and on the refund rules for the country of purchase.

To check and request refunds for the extra subscriptions:

1. Cancel the extra Microsoft 365 subscriptions
   • Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services/microsoft365 and sign in with the same Microsoft account used to buy each subscription.
   • Find each Microsoft 365 subscription (Word/Personal/Basic) and select Manage.
   • Select Cancel (or Upgrade or Cancel, depending on what is shown) and follow the on‑screen steps.
   • If instead of Manage or Cancel there is only Turn on recurring billing, that subscription is already set to expire and will not be charged again.
2. Check refund eligibility after cancellation
   • For Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal, Family or Premium bought directly from Microsoft, refund eligibility is only shown after cancellation.
   • Not all cancellations result in a refund.
   • In some countries (for example Canada, Israel, Korea, Turkey, and in certain cases Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal), cancelling may automatically trigger a prorated refund depending on subscription length and renewal status. See Countries with prorated refunds for Microsoft subscriptions for details.
3. If subscriptions were bought through a third party
   • If any of the subscriptions were purchased via Google Play or Apple App Store, cancellation and refund must be handled through that store:
     • Google Play: see Learn about Google Play refund policies.
     • Apple App Store: request a refund from Apple support.
4. If charges are not recognized or refunds do not appear
   • For unrecognized or disputed charges, use the Manage your payments section of the Microsoft account dashboard to investigate.
   • If the self‑service refund path does not provide the desired result, contact Microsoft Support:
     • Go to Contact Microsoft Support, describe the billing/refund issue, select Get Help, then Contact Support to reach a support agent (chat or call-back) who can review the overlapping subscriptions and any possible refunds.

Note that Microsoft does not automatically cancel overlapping subscriptions; each subscription under the same or different accounts is billed independently until cancelled, and refunds for past months are subject to the refund policy and local regulations.

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References:

• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Can I speak to someone? -- Billing issues - 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
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A
• cancel subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• How to connect with Help and Support - Microsoft Q&A