Unauthorised Subscription charges

Question

I had once tried to subscribe to Microsoft 365, Power BI but it was not successful but today I noticed that amount was debited for past 10 months but I actually didn't get PRO version.

Answer 1

Hi Rishika,

Microsoft sells Microsoft 365 and Power BI versions separately.

1. Which MS 365 version did you buy?
2. Do you see an active subscription on https://account.microsoft.com/services page?
3. Do you mean to say you bought Microsoft 365 E5?

Power BI is sold separately as a standalone BI/analytics product with its own tiers — Power BI Free, Power BI Pro, and Power BI Premium (per user or per capacity).

I’m eager to hear back and work together to find a solution.

Answer 2

The repeated debits are most likely recurring subscription charges that were successfully created even though the upgrade to “Pro” did not work as expected.

To resolve this and request a refund, follow these steps:

1. Investigate what the charges are for
   • Go to the Manage your payments page of the Microsoft account dashboard and select Investigate for the card or payment method that is being charged. This will show which subscription or product is generating the monthly debits and whether it is tied to Microsoft 365, Power BI, or another service.
   • Guidance: How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft explains that unrecognized charges are often due to:
     • A Microsoft subscription with recurring billing enabled.
     • A previously declined charge that later succeeded.
2. Check for duplicate or unexpected payments
   • Review the order history for the Microsoft account to see all charges and confirm whether there are multiple or closely spaced payments for the same subscription.
   • If there appear to be double or catch‑up payments (for example, a late payment followed by an on‑time payment), this can look like unauthorized charges even though they are for the same subscription. See the guidance in I’ve been charged twice for how to compare bank statements with Microsoft order history.
3. Confirm and cancel the subscription if not needed
   • Once the subscription causing the charges is identified, cancel it from the Services & subscriptions section of the Microsoft account so that future debits stop.
   • If cancellation is not possible because the account cannot be accessed, contact Microsoft Support directly for assistance, as community forums and Q&A cannot access account data.
4. Request a refund for past months (where eligible)
   • After cancellation, check if the subscription is eligible for a refund. The refund process depends on region and subscription type, and not all cancellations result in a refund.
   • Use the official refund guidance for Microsoft subscriptions to see eligibility and start the process. For Microsoft 365, there is a self‑help tool that walks through the refund steps.
5. If the charges truly look fraudulent
   • If the investigation shows the charges are not tied to any subscription owned or used, treat them as potential fraud:
     • Complete the “Investigate” flow on the Manage your payments page.
     • If no matching subscription can be found, contact Microsoft Support using the “Get Help”/“Contact Support” path and provide dates, amounts, and the last digits of the card used.
     • If Microsoft and the account tools cannot locate the subscription, contact the bank or card issuer to dispute the charges and consider blocking the card and requesting a new one.
6. If you never received the expected Pro features
   • Even if the subscription was active and being billed, the fact that Pro features were not available strengthens the case for a refund. After identifying the subscription and cancelling it, clearly state in the refund request that the Pro service (e.g., Power BI Pro or Microsoft 365 Pro‑level features) was never actually available despite ongoing charges.

These steps will both stop future debits and give the best chance of recovering the last 10 months of charges, subject to Microsoft’s refund eligibility rules and local regulations.

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References:

• How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft
• I've been charged twice
• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription